Prisoner
by xT-Zealot
Summary: When Shishio assigned Soujiro to look after a prisoner (Who had almost escaped a few times), the Tenken didn't expect to be guarding a certain ninja girl. (Soujiro&Misao) COMPLETED
1. Prologue: The Prisoner

Author's Note: Hi people of the Rurouni Kenshin fic section thingy! And, to be more specific, hello Soujiro/Misao supporters! I've been reading Soujiro/Misa fics, and its been commented by many (including me) that there aren't really that many fics of the certain weasel girl and tenken. So.....yeah the rest is kind of self explanatory. Anyway, here's my first ever Rurouni Kenshin fic! Probably not as good as other's, but hey, I try.  
  
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"Enter."  
  
The door to Shishio's room opened and a young man walked in. Eighteen years old, the boy had brown hair on top of his head and blue eyes stared forward with an emotionless gaze. His clothes were just a simple blue gi and hakama. But what was most notable was the smile that seemed glued to his face, showing no emotion at all like his eyes.  
  
"Hello Shishio," greeted the young man known as Soujiro.  
  
"I trust that your mission was a success?" questioned the mummy man known as Shishio.  
  
"Of course. You do not have to worry about him anymore."  
  
"Excellent. If that man had told the police what he saw, that would've caused us unnecessary problems."  
  
Soujiro nodded, smile still on his face. There was a moment of silence before the Tenken asked, "Is there anything else you want me to do, Shishio?"  
  
"Actually there is." The sudden smell of burning tobacco reached Soujiro's nose as Shishio pulled out a lit pipe and placed it in his mouth. The Tenken waited patiently, the smile ever present on his face, while Shishio took a few puffs of smoke. Taking the pipe out of his mouth, Shishio said, with smoke trailing from his mouth, "We have a prisoner."  
  
"Oh?" Despite emotion being devoid from his face, Soujiro was interested and curious. Shishio never talked about a prisoner before.  
  
"The men seem to have trouble guarding the prisoner. Almost escaped twice already."  
  
"I see. And what do you want me to do?"  
  
"I want you to guard the prisoner. Just in case Shinomori decides to betray us, we have this prisoner, who is very important to him."  
  
"I understand, it will be done." Turning to the door, he opened and disappeared behind it.  
  
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Soujiro walked through the several hallways of Shishio's lair, humming a tune that he had heard his victim hum before the Tenken had killed him. The tune had been stuck in his head and now he hummed it to amuse himself. He stopped humming when he saw a familiar person walking towards him.  
  
"Ah, Yumi," he greeted the woman, his smile widening slightly at his mother figure.  
  
"Hey kid," greeted Yumi. "I take it you've heard about the prisoner?"  
  
"Mhm. Shishio has ordered me to watch over the prisoner."  
  
"Yes I know. The prisoner had to be moved to a more secure part of the lair. I'm sure you know where that is."  
  
Soujiro nodded. "Yes I do."  
  
"Well good luck kid." A grin played across Yumi's face. And if Soujiro was right, which he usually was, he thought he saw a bit of mischievousness in that grin. What probably puzzled Soujiro the most was when Yumi said, "Try not to spend to much time with the prisoner," before she departed.  
  
Soujiro watched curiously as Yumi retreated down the hall, the words she had spoken repeating in his mind. Shrugging, he turned and continued walking, once again humming the tune while wondering what Yumi had meant.  
  
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It was about five minutes later did Soujiro stop humming as he reached his destination. Thanks to the several torches on the several walls in the several hallways, he was able to see the two guards standing in front of a door clearly. It didn't take him long to figure out that the prisoner was behind the door. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed that the door had been bolted shut and several chains kept the door closed.  
  
'He must be a dangerous person," Soujiro thought to himself, otherwise having no clue why the door was as secured as it was. Of course, that led him to wonder who the prisoner was. Could he be Aoshi's mentor? Maybe a close friend or relative? Whoever he was, Soujiro was about to find out.  
  
With the smile having been on his face since.....ever, the Tenken moved towards the two guards. The said two guards saw Soujiro and fear started to creep into their eyes. It was known for a fact that Shishio's men feared their master the most. But next to Shishio, Soujiro was second most fearful person. Ask the dead guys that said the wrong thing to Shishio and Soujiro, or ended up failing a mission or a simple task, or giving bad news, or even being killed when Shishio was in a bad mood.  
  
"Soujiro," a guard acknowledged, keeping his voice from shaking. "We were told that you would be here."  
  
"I've come to see the prisoner," stated Soujiro, standing in front of the two and letting his presence drive the fear into their hearts.  
  
"Yes we know," the second guard said, also keeping his voice from shaking. "The prisoner is in there." He pointed to the door.  
  
Well of course," replied Soujiro, smiling. "Why else would you be here?"  
  
Both guards didn't know if Soujiro really wanted an answer. Any hints that would show whether Soujiro wanted an answer were hidden by the Tenken. And at times like this, the guards kept their mouths shut.  
  
"Would you two open the door?"  
  
Both guards nodded. Quickly going to work, the two unbolted the door and started removing the chains. Soujiro waited patiently, though he was eager to meet the prisoner. A few seconds later, the guards finished the work and once again stood in front of the door.  
  
"I would like to be alone with the prisoner," said Soujiro.  
  
"But Soujiro, are you sure?" asked the second.  
  
"Do you doubt my skills?" A dangerous glint appeared in Soujiro's eye as he stared at the one who had questioned him.  
  
"N-no! Of course not! You can be alone with the prisoner!" The guard quickly took off with the other following, wanting to be fffaaarrr away from the Tenken.  
  
Soujiro watched them go, chuckling. He might kill the guard later, but not now. His eagerness to meet the prisoner won out over killing the guard. Besides, there would be many other men to kill.  
  
Now looking at the door, Soujiro opened it before walking into the room. It was a simple one room place, a wooden floor, wall, and ceiling. But that wasn't going to leave an easy escape route, since the rock of the cave walls were behind the wooden walls of this room. A futon was on the floor, with a lump that would probably be the prisoner.  
  
Soujiro made sure the door was closed before taking the few steps he needed to the futon. Kneeling down, he grasped the blanket of the futon before pulling it away.  
  
And saw that the lump was actually a pillow.  
  
During his training, Soujiro had learned to expect even the most ridiculous situations that might occur. The pillow on the futon was the oldest trick in the book, and one the Tenken had always been prepared for. Which was why he was able to see the sudden movement out of the corner of his eye.  
  
Already out of his kneeling position, Soujiro just sidestepped, and someone flew past him where he just was. All he was able to see was black hair tied in a long braid of the, no question about it, prisoner. That was because after the sneak attack had failed, the prisoner was up and sending kicks and punches at him. Soujiro felt a tad of disappointment as he easily dodged and slapped numerous blows away from him, having expected a challenge after all he heard about this prisoner.  
  
He sidestepped a roundhouse kick before his foot ended up knocking the prisoner's feet out from under him. With a yelp (Which Soujiro noticed was unusually high) the prisoner fell to the floor.  
  
"I thought that you would be a bit more of a challenge," the Tenken said, his smile hiding his disappointment. "But I guess you aren't really that skilled."  
  
"Ah, shut up!" the prisoner snapped.  
  
Soujiro blinked. For a male, this prisoner's voice, like the yelp, was a little high. It all became clear when the prisoner stood up and turned to face him.  
  
This prisoner was not a male. Quite the opposite actually. This prisoner was a female.  
  
Clad in a ninja outfit, Soujiro's emotionless blue eyes stared into fiery emerald green eyes. And, as Soujiro already noticed, long black hair was on the girl's head, most of it tied in a braid. This female was just a girl, maybe two years younger then he was.  
  
But then again it was a girl that attacked him and standing before him in a fighting stance.  
  
For some odd reason, Soujiro felt a bit of recognition, as if he had seen this girl before. It seemed the same vice versa, as the girl's emerald green eyes widened, full of recognition.  
  
"You!?" she cried, pointing a finger at him. "You're the one with that mummy guy! Soujiro!"  
  
It took Soujiro a bit to collect the information about the girl from his memory. And soon his smile widened. He knew this girl. The one that had been with Kenshin and Saitoh.  
  
Makimachi Misao.  
  
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Author's Note: Woohoo! Prologue is done! Don't worry about an update folks, I'm planning to add another chapter at the end of this week! So be ready to read another chapter soon! 


	2. Chapter 1: Questions and Answers

Author's Note: Muwahahaha! Told ya I would get a chapter up at the end of this week! Thanks for the reviews people! And now you are rewarded with another chapter!  
  
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Misao couldn't believe her luck. In a bad way, not a good way.  
  
First, she had been kidnapped while she had been training with a blindfold over her eyes as she tried to use her other senses to fight. Obviously she ended up failing when Shishio's men snuck up behind her. She still put up a fight though, until one of them knocked her out. Even though she bruised them and even gave them some broken bones, Misao still wished that they were here right now so she can wrap her hands around their necks and wait until they could no longer breathe, the life draining from their eyes, and then-  
  
Okay moving on.  
  
Second, she had been taken to this place, which she found out was Shishio's lair. Third, her plans for escape ended up in failure and now she was moved to this room that was giving her a real headache thinking of a way out. Fourth, she now had Soujiro watching her. We're talking about Soujiro the Tenken here, the one that broke Himura's sword. This was going to make her plans for escape harder to think of. And finally, she had no idea why she was kidnapped in the first place!  
  
"Hello Miss," greeted Soujiro, smiling as always. "I didn't know you were the prisoner."  
  
"My name is Misao," the ninja replied, glaring at the Tenken. "And I won't be a prisoner for long! I'm getting out of here!"  
  
"Oh?" Soujiro's eyes wandered around the room, wondering if Misao had found a way to escape this room. "Well how are you going to do that?"  
  
Misao twitched in irritation, her hatred for this person growing. "First I'm going to kick your ass!"  
  
Soujiro stopped looking around the room and his gaze went back to Misao. "And then?"  
  
"Then I'm getting out of this room!"  
  
"And then?"  
  
"Then I'm getting out of mummy man's lair!"  
  
"And then?"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
Soujiro chuckled, amused by Misao's temper. Maybe this prisoner wasn't such a disappointment after all. Sure she wasn't as good of a fighter as him, but this made up for it.  
  
"Are you getting out of my way?" asked Misao. "Or am I going to have to take you down?"  
  
"You can try," replied Soujiro. "But you seem to be at a disadvantage. I have a weapon but you don't. So I'll make it easier for you. I won't use my sword."  
  
"Fine. Whatever you want to make it easier for me to beat you."  
  
"Now now." Soujiro wagged his finger at Misao. "You shouldn't say such things before a fight. I might end up winning little Misao."  
  
Misao immediately fumed at the word "little". It was bad enough that he had maneuvered out of her little trap, smile the whole time and taunt her. But the whole "little" thing was going way too far.  
  
"I am not little!" Misao shouted, before charging forward. She threw her first at his face, but only had him slap it away in response. She tried hitting him with a roundhouse kick, end ended up having Soujiro flip over the kick, and Misao herself.  
  
"I'm over here little Misao," exclaimed Soujiro, tugging gently on her long braid. Obviously the smiling Tenken was having fun. He didn't remember the last time he enjoyed teasing and taunting his opponent this much.  
  
Misao shrieked before brining up a foot and sending it behind her to try to hit Soujiro. Unfortunately for her, he caught her foot and held it, leaving the ninja girl one foot to stand on. Growling, Misao jumped with the use of her one foot and tried to do a spinning kick with said food to free her other one from Soujiro's grasp. She ended up succeeding and failing.  
  
Succeeding because Soujiro let go of her foot. And failed because Soujiro grabbed and held onto her other foot, leaving poor Misao with one foot to stand on once again.  
  
The Tenken found this humorous and laughed. Misao growled before trying another spin kick. Soujiro let go of the foot that he held before grabbing the one Misao was trying to kick him with once again. He laughed again.  
  
"This isn't funny!" Misao shouted, trying to pull her foot out of Soujiro's grasp. "Let go!"  
  
"Okay." And, as he said, he let go of her foot as Misao tried to pull her foot again at the same time Soujiro had let go. So she ended up stumbling, and inevitably fell on the floor.  
  
"You are very funny Misao," Soujiro commented, smiling down at her.  
  
"Shut up!" Misao stood up and rounded on Soujiro, green eyes ablaze. "And can you stop smiling!?"  
  
"Can you stop yelling?"  
  
Misao gritted her teeth and leapt forward, her fists and feet flying at the Tenken. Soujiro leapt, ducked, slapped, blocked and sidestepped away from Misao's blows. This went on for a few minutes, with Soujiro smiling the whole time and Misao's determination to wipe the said smile off his face growing.  
  
It was then, when Soujiro grabbed her fist, did he maneuver behind Misao. He took her braid in one hand and then, with Misao's fist in his other hand, tied the braid around her wrist.  
  
"Hey what are you doing!?" Hoping to stop Soujiro from making her right hand useless to her, she shot her left elbow backwards to hit him. That didn't turn out too good for Misao, because Soujiro dodged and then grabbed her left arm before brining it behind her and tying her braid around her left wrist. Misao struggled, but it was futile as Soujiro tied both her wrists behind her with her own braid.  
  
Soujiro backed away from Misao and watched with amusement as the ninja girl struggled. She cursed and yelped in pain when she pulled too hard on her hair as she tried to free her hands.  
  
"I think you had enough Misao," commented Soujiro, chuckling. The girl was very amusing. This was really making it up for her lack of fighting skills.  
  
"I still have my legs," replied Misao. She ceased her struggles when she figured that she wasn't getting anywhere and turned to Soujiro. "I can still beat you!"  
  
"Okay." Soujiro placed his arms behind his back. "I won't use my arms either."  
  
Misao didn't relpy. Instead, she just sped forward. She tried to give Soujiro a kick to the shins, but was blocked by Soujiro's foot. Another kick, this one to the stomach, and Soujiro leapt back and raised his foot to block another kick from Misao.  
  
In a way, this was like a dance. Everywhere Soujiro went, Misao would follow on the attack. Their feet would move this way and that. When Misao kicked low, Soujiro would block with one of his feet. When Misao kicked high, Soujiro would move away and she would follow to resume her attack on the smiling Tenken.  
  
But this dance soon came to an end. When Misao tried to give Soujiro a boot to the face, he didn't retreat this time. Instead, he ducked and then shot his foot toward the foot that Misao was standing on. Misao cried out in surprise and fell to the floor on her back when Soujiro's foot connected with hers.  
  
She immediately struggled to get back up. But before she could even try, Soujiro's foot was planted on her chest and pushed gently, but firmly, against her to keep her down on the floor. Misao looked up to find Soujiro standing over her, the smile have never left his face.  
  
"I believe I win little Misao."  
  
"I am not little," Misao growled. However, even she knew that she was beat.  
  
Soujiro chuckled. Removing his foot from her, he kneeled down next to her. "Don't know how such a loudmouth like you can be so important to Shinomori."  
  
"Aoshi?" Misao's eyes widened at the name of the former Okashira of the Oniwabanshu. If her hands weren't bound behind her and she wasn't on her back, she would've tackled the Tenken and shake him by his shoulders while demanding information on Aoshi. But since her hands were bound, and she was on her back, she settled with a loud, "Where's Aoshi!? What have you done with him!?"  
  
"Let's not rush into things Misao," advised Soujiro, wagging a finger at her. "You're the one that's trapped here."  
  
"Tell me where Aoshi is," said Misao, glaring at Soujiro.  
  
"How about this? I'll untie you. And then if you promise not to attack or escape, I'll tell you all you want about Aoshi."  
  
"Fine," replied Misao, wanting to know what happened to her Aoshi, but also because she really had no other choice.  
  
Soujiro knelt down, helping Misao to a sitting position before his hands went behind her head to untie the braid from around her hands. But he suddenly stopped, and stared at her face. Raising an eyebrow, his face moved closer to hers as he examined her face.  
  
"W-what are you doing?" asked Misao, her face reddening slightly when she noticed that Soujrio's face was only inches from hers. At first, Soujiro didn't reply, only examined her face.  
  
Finally he spoke.  
  
"Did anyone tell you that you looked like a weasel?"  
  
He got a headbutt for that one.  
  
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The room smelled like freshly cooked rice as Soujiro cooked. Having left Misao to think of what he had told her, Soujiro had went to the kitchen of Shishio's lair to cook some food. Ever since he had killed his target, Soujiro never had the chance to actually eat, and he was quite hungry. Not knowing if Misao was hungry as well, he had decided to cook some food for her as well.  
  
What's the use of having her as a prisoner if she starves to death?  
  
As Soujiro cooked, he couldn't help but think back to what had happened only a few minutes ago, when he had told Misao about Aoshi joining them. At first, Misao had listened closely, anticipation on her face for finally being able to hear what has happened to Aoshi. From what he could guess, she already knew the fates of the other members of the Oniwabanshu.  
  
But, as he said those words, Misao's expression changed drastically. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open as she gasped. Soujiro just watched as her eyes turned glassy, tears starting to gather in them. Something.....happened to Soujiro as he watched her. He didn't know what, but for some reason he felt a strange, yet familiar, emotion while he watched Misao.  
  
Pity? It was something Soujiro didn't remember experiencing before, and took him a while to find out the emotion. It was strange, why feel that emotion all of a sudden? He had never felt it before, or anything like it before. None that he could remember feeling anyway, even after he would kill someone.  
  
For some reason, as he thought of why he would suddenly feel that emotion, his thoughts would always turn to the girl, Misao. Something was different about her. He didn't know what but there was something about the girl that seemed to be affecting Soujiro. He didn't know what, but it was on his to do list to figure it out.  
  
'A funny girl,' thought Soujiro. 'But such a strange one too.'  
  
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Misao lied on her futon, staring at the ceiling with thoughts running through her mind. Soujiro's words echoed again and again in her head.  
  
'He's working for us now,' she thought, the words having been exactly what Soujiro had told her. She didn't want to believe it, couldn't believe it. The mystery of what happened to Aoshi had always haunted her mind as she tried to discover what happened to him.  
  
Kaoru had told her about what happened to Hanya and the others, how they were killed by a certain drug lord with a gatling gun. But, when Misao asked her about Aoshi, she had said that he had disappeared. For years Misao had searched for Aoshi and the others, wanting to see them again. It devasted her that Hanya, Shikijou, Beshimi, and Hyottoko had been killed.  
  
However, she still had hope for Aoshi. Unfortunately, now, she was starting to question her search for him. How could Aoshi, HER Aoshi, team up with the likes of Shishio? What the hell was going on!? She was kidnapped, and now she finds out that the one she had been searching for for so many years has become a bad guy. What else is next!?  
  
'This isn't fair,' she thought to herself, tears brimming her eyes and threatening to spill down her face like they had when Soujiro had left. 'Why is this happening? What else can go wrong now?'  
  
"Hello Misao."  
  
'Oh great.'  
  
Misao didn't bother to look to see who had entered. Raising a hand, she scrubbed at the tears that had started to escape her eyes. She did not like the idea of her enemy seeing her like this.  
  
"What do you want now?" she asked harshly, staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Just thought you were hungry," replied Soujiro, plopping down next to her with a tray of food in his hands. It didn't take long for the scent of the delicious food Soujiro had made to reach Misao's nostrils. Her stomach growled and her cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment when she heard Soujiro chuckle.  
  
"I'm not hungry," informed Misao.  
  
"Your stomach seems to disagree with you Misao." Taking one of the bowls containing miso soup, Soujiro held it over Misao's face.  
  
"I'm not hungry," Misao repeated, though the aroma from the soup was starting to convince her to eat.  
  
"Okay then." Soujiro took the bowl away from Misao's face and placed it back on the tray. But instead of giving up, as Misao had started to think, she felt Soujiro start to poke her in the ribs. "Are you ticklish Misao?"  
  
Misao tried hard to keep a straight face. She succeeded.....but only for a few seconds. Misao's straight face suddenly turned into a smile, then a giggle, then she started laughing as Soujiro started tickling her. Soujiro smiled as she saw her laughing.  
  
Looking down at the tray he had put in front of him on the ground, he took one of the rice balls that were on the tray. Misao was busy laughing to notice. When she did notice, it was when Soujiro suddenly shoved the rice ball in her now open mouth.  
  
Now that the tickling has stopped, Misao's once smiling face turned into one of anger as she glared at Soujiro, rice ball still in her mouth. Soujiro ignored it of course, and picked up his own bowl of miso soup. "You should start eating Misao. You don't want me to tickle you again do you?"  
  
Misao only glared. Then, giving into hunger over pride, she took a bite from the rice ball in her mouth before pulling it out. Chewing on her first bite, she swallowed before taking another bite from it.  
  
For some reason, Misao had a feeling she was going to have to get used to this because she was going to be here for a while.  
  
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Author's Note: And there you go! Chapter is done! And unfortunately, you won't be seeing another chapter for a while. The reason for that is because I'm going to Massachusetts (I can't spell that). And, despite me not liking to travel, it might be fun. I mean, going some place far away where I can actually relax and not have to worry about anything. I just need to survive being in the same car with my brother and sister for a few hours. But I think it'll actually be fun ^^. See ya when I get back! 


	3. Chapter 2: Shoulder Angel, Shoulder Devi...

Author's Note: Woohoo! Finally! I'm bbbaaaccckkk! My vacation was good I guess. I found a replacement hat!!! *puts on my Union hat* I didn't expect to get twenty reviews for just two chapters. I feel loved. Thank you all! And happy late Easter! *gives everyone who's ready Easter bags full of candy and stuff* And my other gift is this chapter. Read and enjoy!  
  
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"Done eating Misao?" asked Soujiro, eating another rice ball as he turned to the weasel girl.  
  
"Yes," she replied, the annoyance and hatred for the Tenken still evident in her voice.  
  
Soujiro blinked at the answer. It wasn't that Misao didn't eat a lot. On the contrary, she had already devoured her share of rice balls and miso soup by the time Soujiro finished his soup. When Soujiro asked if Misao wanted some of his rice balls, she answered by eating his until there was only one rice ball left for him. How a small girl like her can eat that much in such a short amount of time puzzled Soujiro. Misao was just full of surprises.  
  
Soujiro popped the rest of the rice ball in his mouth and finished it off. Looking to the, obviously, still angry Misao, he asked, "How did you get captured anyway?"  
  
"None of your business!" she immediately snapped.  
  
'Such a violent girl,' Soujiro thought to himself. 'But then again, that's what makes her fun.' There was a silence, with Misao staring at the ceiling, eyes narrowed, and Soujiro smiling while staring at nothing in particular.  
  
"Why do you do it?"  
  
"Hm?" Soujiro turned to stare at Misao, who had turned her face from the ceiling so she could look at him.  
  
"Killing other people. Why do you do it?"  
  
"Because Shishio tells me to."  
  
"Stupid reason," Misao said. "Why do you do everything he tells you to do?"  
  
"Because Shishio is right."  
  
Misao raised an eyebrow at him. "Right about what?"  
  
"Everything."  
  
This time Misao rolled her eyes. 'He needs to be more specific,' she thought to herself. Then aloud she asked, "An example please?"  
  
"The strong survive and the weak die," replied Soujiro, the lesson he had learned to believe in for years flowing freely in the words he had just spoken.  
  
"And you believe that?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"That's so stupid!" Misao was now up and staring at Soujiro face to face. "Why would you believe something like that!?"  
  
"Because it's right." He stared back at Misao, his blue eyes staring into her green ones. "I have been proven that."  
  
It was then, as Misao stared into his eyes, did she see a sudden change. Something flickered within those blue eyes, and it almost looked as if Soujiro's smile had suddenly faltered for a second. But Misao only needed a second to see what she saw. It almost as if Soujiro seemed to appear.....fragile.  
  
Though it was a flicker, Misao had seen a sadness that showed a destroyed innocence within him. And the smile that graced his face, was actually a fake smile, hiding the sad one behind it. However, as Misao blinked and looked again, she found nothing.  
  
An emotion bled into Misao's heart. It didn't take her as long as Soujiro had to find out that the emotion was pity. She immediately scolded herself mentally. 'You're feeling pity over your enemy Misao! Are you nuts!?'  
  
"What are you doing Misao?" asked Soujiro, pulling Misao away from her thoughts. Noticing how close her face suddenly was to Soujiro's, she immediately pulled back, a little bit of redness appearing on her face. Soujiro tilted his head to one side, confused at Misao's actions.  
  
'Strange girl,' he thought as he watched her with curious eyes. Shrugging, he picked up Misao's empty bowl and placed it on the tray with his. "I will be back Misao." Not waiting for Misao to acknowledge or not, Soujiro opened the door and left the room.  
  
Misao watched him go, and even stared at the closed door for a minute. But soon her gaze left the door and ended up at the ceiling yet again. Thoughts troubled her mind, most of them about Soujiro, and the rest about Aoshi.  
  
This kidnapping thing was making her very confused.  
  
Probably the one thing that was confusing was feeling pity for her enemy. She can't do that right? Not exactly a smart thing. Feeling pity for someone that kills people and is now making sure you stay a prisoner. Like she thought, very confusing.  
  
Misao suddenly yelped when a puff of white smoke appeared on her chest. As the smoke clear she found herself staring at.....herself? Well, not exactly herself. This Misao had wings on her back, carried a harp, wore a toga, and even had a little halo hovering on top of her head. Oh yeah, this Misao was very very very small.  
  
"Why shouldn't you feel pity for him?" asked the Angel Misao, staring down at the wide-eyed Misao. "It's obvious he had a rough past."  
  
"Um.....who are you?" asked Misao, rubbing her eyes with her hand. She looked again, only to find that the Angel Misao was still there.  
  
"I'm your shoulder angel."  
  
"And I'm your shoulder devil," a voice suddenly broke in.  
  
This time a flame appeared before quickly disappearing. And in the flame's place was another Misao. She wore a red skin tight leather suit, had a trident in her hand, and little horns poking out of the top of her head.  
  
'I'm going crazy,' thought Misao, as she stared at the two other Misaos.  
  
"The question isn't why shouldn't you feel pity for him," the Devil Misao explained. "The real question is why should you feel pity for him?"  
  
"Uh....." was all Misao was able to say, still trying to figure out if she somehow lost it. She stared at Angel Misao, then turned to Devil Misao before blinking and rubbing her eyes, only to repeat the process again.  
  
"No you're not crazy," Angel Misao answered the ninja girl's silent question. "I am your guide to all things that are right."  
  
"That's so corny," snorted Devil Misao. "And who says everything you say is right? What about me!?"  
  
"What about you? If you haven't noticed, you're the DEVIL Misao. I'm the ANGEL Misao."  
  
"So what!? You really think someone is going to listen to you!? I mean.....look at you!"  
  
"Look who's talking! Have you even noticed what you're wearing!?"  
  
"Hm?" Devil Misao held a hand to her chin as she looked down at her outfit, the leather suit hugging her body. She looked back at Angel Misao with a grin. "At least people will pay attention to me."  
  
"Yeah, the perverts."  
  
"I'm sure Aoshi wouldn't complain."  
  
Angel Misao's face went red, both from anger and embarrassment. "Why did I have to get stuck with you as my counterpart?"  
  
"Well who else is there?" asked Devil Misao. "If it weren't for me you would just be a goody two shoes that can never take care of herself. Oh wait.....you still are."  
  
"Why you little!" Angel Misao tackled Devil Misao and soon the two were in a catfight, with Misao watching with wide eyes. The beginning of the catfight started with hair pulling and biting. Of course, it became more violent later on. For example, Devil Misao tried to stab Angel Misao with her trident, and Angel Misao would pull off a string from her harp and try to strangle Devil Misao with it.  
  
Misao held a hand to her now throbbing head as the two other Misaos fought. 'What have I gotten myself into?' she asked herself silently.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Back to Soujiro, the Tenken seemed to be having his own problems. But instead of his thoughts about being about Misao, they were more about the battle between Kenshin and Senkaku. That little talk about the strong survive and the weak die with the ninja girl had caused Soujiro to question about that battle.  
  
It was strange. Himura was strong, despite Soujiro having broken his sword. But.....why did he use the Ryu-Sho-Sen? Soujiro knew that Himura had revealed it on purpose. The question was why?  
  
Senkaku was weak. Weak enough that Kenshin wouldn't even need to use any of his attacks on him. But he still did.  
  
"I'll make sure to ask him when I fight him again," Soujiro said to himself. An image of Misao suddenly appeared in his mind. "Or I can ask Misao. She says that what Shishio told me was wrong, so maybe she can tell me why Himura revealed the Ryu-Sho-Sen."  
  
Another reason for the sudden thoughts of Senkaku was because of what Soujiro had learned.  
  
It seemed that Senkaku had escaped from prison. Truthfully, Soujiro was amazed. He didn't think Senkaku would've been able to escape. And the Tenken had a few questions he needed answers to that only Senkaku could give him.  
  
Shishio did say Senkaku wasn't a problem since he didn't tell him anything important or give him any real responsibility. Shishio said that but how could Senkaku stand being alive? Kenshin defeated him.  
  
Soujiro held a hand to his chin, thinking the thoughts over. Though his smile and eyes showed his lack of emotions, behind them he was confused. Why would Senkaku want to live after being defeated? Soujiro did not really like the idea of living when you were defeated, proving your weakness. Why live after you've been defeated?  
  
Those were the questions he wanted to ask. And they were what he wanted answers to.  
  
'First this Misao,' he suddenly though. 'And now Senakaku. For some reason, a part of me likes where this is going. But another part.....doesn't. Strange.'  
  
He left his thoughts at the back of his mind as he made his way to the exit of Shishio's lair. He disappeared in thin air soon after as he used his Shukuchi.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
"Okay okay!" Misao suddenly shouted. "Enough!"  
  
Her shoulder angel and devil stopped, having been fighting on top of a nearby chair. Angel Misao had a broken wing and her halo was bent. She had a black eye and her harp was missing a few strings. Devil Misao had a bent trident, one of her horns had been broken off, and a few pieces of string from Angel Misao's harp were still around her neck, leaving some marks there.  
  
"You two are driving me crazy!" continued Misao. "Stop fighting!"  
  
"Hey don't yell at us," said Devil Misao. "We represent your different halves. I represent your dark half and she," she pointed to Angel Misao, "is your light half. Though I still think she has some darkness in her." To prove her point, she pulled off the strings from Angel Misao's harp from around her neck and felt the marks that were left there.  
  
"Ok.....so why are you two here?" Misao asked.  
  
"Because we're here to help you make choices," explained Angel Misao.  
  
"You are?" Misao then glared at the two. "Then where were you two when I was thinking about going to look for Aoshi?"  
  
"Uh....." both Angel and Devil Misao said.  
  
"What about when I was going to decide whether to hide Hanya's mask and switch it with a stupid looking mask?"  
  
"Uh....."  
  
"What about-."  
  
"Okay enough!" interrupted Devil Misao.  
  
"To make it simple we're just lazy," admitted Angel Misao, bowing her head in shame.  
  
"The contract didn't say we had to look after you 24/7," said the Devil Misao.  
  
Misao only narrowed her eyes at the two. "Then why are you here?"  
  
"We're here to help you with this predicament you got yourself into," said Angel Misao.  
  
"What you're going to help me escape?"  
  
"My counterpart should've been more specific," said Devil Misao. "The predicament she was talking about is your feelings for the smiling idiot that you met."  
  
"Soujiro!? What feelings for him!?"  
  
"Well whether you should feel pity for him," exclaimed Angel Misao.  
  
"My counterpart is just crazy though," said Devil Misao. "We hadn't done anything in a long time and she's going off the deep end about this."  
  
"Why should I feel pity for Soujiro?" asked Misao, turning to Angel Misao. "He's one that's making sure I don't escape."  
  
"But do you wonder why?"  
  
Misao blinked at that. "What?"  
  
"Well, look at you for example," said Angel Misao. "You lost your parents. What do you think might've happened in Soujiro's past? There could be a reason why he smiles all the time and saw what you saw in him."  
  
"I'll tell you why he smiles," put in Devil Misao. "He's crazy! Obviously he went farther off the deep end then Angel here. He kills people because some burnt up bacon man tells him to!"  
  
"But WHY does he do whatever bacon man says?"  
  
"He's crazy! I just said that!"  
  
Angel Misao shook her head, rubbing her temples with her hand. "The only one that's crazy is you."  
  
"You want a piece of me again?" asked Devil Misao, waving her bent trident at Angel Misao.  
  
Angel Misao sighed. Then, quickly, she raised a hand and grasped her bent halo in her hand. With one swift motion, she threw the halo forward at Devil Misao. There was a loud crack as the halo connected with her nose and Devil Misao ended up falling off the chair. And because of how small she was, the fall was kind of far.  
  
When she hit the ground, a flame surrounded her. As the flame dissipated, it was revealed that Devil Misao had disappeared.  
  
"That was easy enough," said Angel Misao, raising a hand to catch her halo like a boomerang before setting it back over her head. "Now back to business." She hopped off the chair and landed on Misao's shoulder, who was now sitting up.  
  
"Are you sure you're not a devil in disguise?" asked Misao, looking at Angel Misao suspiciously.  
  
Angel Misao laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "The last time I checked I was an angel. Anyway back to business."  
  
Misao only sighed.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Bushes suddenly parted as a large form ran through them. Not having seen the hill behind the bushes, the man fell and rolled all the way down. Dirt rose into the air as the bald headed man with a head shaped as a cone rolled before finally coming to a stop. Lying on his back, the man laid.  
  
A river streamed next to him as he lied on the ground, taking deep breaths of fresh air. For a while he never thought he could get out of that prison. But now, here he was, free. And was alive because of the former Hitokiri known as Kenshin Himura.  
  
For a while, the man lied on his back, the wonderful scent of freedom filling his nostrils. The river gave his ears something to relax him. Sweat, dirty, bruised, the man didn't care. He was free and alive.  
  
All thanks to Kenshin Himura.  
  
"You're amazing!" a voice suddenly broke the man's time of relaxation. "I didn't think you'd escape!"  
  
The man shot up from his lying position and turned to where he heard the voice. He found the owner of the voice soon enough, the person standing over him and staring at him with an emotionless gaze.  
  
"S.....Soujiro," Senkaku gasped out, seeing the smiling face of the Tenken.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Author's Note: Woohoo! Finally! Done! Hope you guys give me lots of reviews like the two chapters! 


	4. Chapter 3: Memories

Author's Note: Woohoo! Another chapter up! In this chapter we have some more Soujiro/Misao interacting so Soujiro/Misao fans rejoice! Now, after rejoicing, please read the chapter and leave a review once you're done   
  
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The sudden sound of footsteps was the evidence that the Tenken had returned. Though his pace once had been one of confidence and power, it now showed that his power had.....weakened. And his confidence became that of uncertainty. Even his smile seemed a bit different. His sheathed sword gave off the scent of recently spilled blood.  
  
'Such strange things he had said,' Soujiro thought to himself. 'What had Himura done to him? Before, at the village, Himura should've killed Senkaku.'  
  
Slowly, Soujiro's train of thought went towards the meeting with Senkaku.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Senkaku sat near the river, looking down at it. The sun's rays reflected against the water's surface as he stared into the watery depths. His back was turned to Soujiro, who stood a few feet away from him with his back also turned, except he was standing. There was a long silence, which was only broken by the running river.  
  
"Are you here to kill me?" Senkaku finally asked.  
  
"Shishio said you weren't a problem since he didn't tell you anything important or give you any real responsibility," exclaimed Soujiro. He paused, as Senkaku suddenly sighed, his expression coming of ease. That was until Soujiro continued with, "Shishio said that but.....Senkaku how can you stand being alive? Himura defeated you."  
  
Senkaku's expression immediately became one of surprise. His eyes moved to where he knew Soujiro was, despite his back being turned to the Tenken. His expression suddenly softened, and he looked back down at the flowing river. "He didn't want to kill me," he spoke again. "If he didn't show me mercy, I would have been killed by Shishio and I would be floating in a pool of blood in hell right now."  
  
He looked over his shoulder at Soujiro before continuing, "But I'm alive to see another day. I thank him." He once again turned to the river, closing his eyes and letting the peace around him comfort him. "Battousai isn't only a strong person. He isn't like Shishio who lives to see others die."  
  
Soujiro stared at nothing in particular. His mind slowly digested the words Senkaku had spoken, his expression slowly turning into one of confusion. He then turned around, just in time to see a bird suddenly streak towards the river, it dived into the water and appeared a second later with a small fish in its mouth.  
  
In that instant, as Soujiro watched the bird fly off with the morsel, Shishio's teachings rang loud and true. The strong survive and the weak die.  
  
Soujiro turned to Senkaku, the giant's back turned to him. Senkaku is weak.....he should die. The Tenken smile appeared on Soujiro's face as his hand wrapped around the handle of his sword.  
  
A minute passed, Soujiro having already disappeared. Senkaku still sat near the river, never moving.  
  
But that was because he couldn't.  
  
Senkaku's eyes were now wide and lifeless. The river continued to flow before him, with his blood mixing with the water.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
'After all, this world is a survival of the fittest,' thought Soujiro, thinking the same thing that Shishio had told him. 'The strong live. If not, they die.'  
  
Soujiro had thought that. He had thought of it when he went to find Senkaku, thought of it when he spoke with Senkaku, and had thought of it after he killed Senkaku.  
  
But.....for some reason.....he couldn't help question his master's teachings.  
  
Soujiro roughly shook his head, scolding himself. "Shishio can't be wrong," he said aloud, though no one was around to hear him. "Himura has to be wrong." He sighed, not really knowing where he was going. He was just letting his feet do the walking.  
  
'I don't know why, but I can't understand Himura. This non-killing Kenshin Himura.....non-killing Himura. It's just wrong. His reverse blade was wrong.'  
  
In the end, Soujiro couldn't help but compare Himura's destroyed reverse blade sword with the weak. Himura's reverse blade was weak. It was destroyed, just like people die when they are weak. His sword reflects himself. His sword was weak, and so was he. His sword was destroyed, and when Soujiro faced Himura again, Himura will die.  
  
Soujiro's feet suddenly stopped. Curious at where they led him, he looked up to see what was in front of him.  
  
"Interesting," he murmured to himself, staring in front of the door to Misao's prison.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Angel Misao was seated on the same chair that she had knocked Devil Misao off of. She only stared at Misao, who was looking down at her folded hands with the thoughts of what her shoulder angel had just told her. The winged Misao fixed another string to her harp. Her wounds from the catfight with Devil Misao had been healed, and even her halo had been repaired.  
  
She suddenly stopped on the repairs of her harp to look up at the door. Slowly a smile formed as she sensed the presence of someone behind the door. Knowing who it was, she turned to Misao and her smile seemed to widen. She stood up from her seated position, dusting herself off.  
  
"I will be going now," she spoke, causing Misao to look up at her. With a smirk she said, "Have fun Misao." Before Misao could comprehend what Angel Misao had meant, her angel self had disappeared in a puff of white smoke.  
  
Almost immediately, the door to her room suddenly opened. Misao looked up, just as Soujiro entered her room.  
  
She saw it right when he walked in.  
  
Behind that mask, she saw conflicting thoughts battle against each other. His eyes, smile, even as he stood before her, she saw that something had changed within the Tenken. What event that took place after he had left her the first time, she didn't know. All she knew that this Soujiro, was slightly different then the Soujiro she had spoken to a few hours ago.  
  
"Greetings again Misao," greeted Soujiro, smiling his new smile at her. "How has it been going while I was away?"  
  
"Like hell," she replied simply, glaring at him, though her glare seemed to be a bit weaker then it normally was.  
  
Soujiro chuckled, and even Misao couldn't help notice how THAT changed too. Everything about Soujiro had changed. It left Misao to wonder what had happened. Despite how she had only known Soujiro for about an hour, she couldn't help but think she had known Soujiro completely during that time. He was a heartless killer, taking orders from an oversized and overcooked bacon wrapped in bandages, and all that he lived for was to kill. But now, even though these changes within him were small, Misao now knew that she didn't know him at all.  
  
"I want to know something," said Soujiro, sitting on the ground so he was face to face with Misao. "I would've asked Senkaku that but I guess I forgot to ask him."  
  
"Then why don't go find him again and ask him?"  
  
"Well it's simple really." He continued to smile even as he spoke the next two words from his mouth. "He's dead."  
  
Misao's green eyes widened. It didn't take a genius to know how Senkaku had died. "You killed him?"  
  
"Yep." Soujiro unconsciously let his hand grasp the hilt of his sword. He slid it out slightly, just enough for the blood covered blade to reveal itself. "And the weak die."  
  
Misao only stared at the sword. "You killed him," she said, this time knowing it instead of questioning it.  
  
"Yep." He slid his sword back into his sheath. "But enough of Senkaku. There is something I want answered."  
  
"What makes you think I'll answer it?"  
  
Soujiro chose to not answer it. Instead he asked, "Why did Himura use the Ryu-Sho-Sen before?"  
  
"What?" asked Misao, blinking, unsure of the question. "Ryu-Sho-Sen?"  
  
"Back at the village, he revealed it to Shishio on purpose," continued Soujiro. "But he could've defeated Senkaku without the Ryu-Sho- Sen. So why did he use it?" He stared at Misao with his blue eyes, patiently waiting for an answer.  
  
He wasn't expecting the answer so soon.  
  
Misao only stared at him, a surprise look on her face. Then her expression became one of anger before she exploded. "You stupid or what!?"  
  
Soujiro blinked. He hadn't expected that. The question seemed hard for him to answer. "Hm?"  
  
"You don't understand Himura at all!" shouted Misao, poking a finger against Soujiro's chest. "Shishio told Senkaku that if he didn't force Himura to reveal one of his techniques, Shishio would kill him right?" Not waiting for him to acknowledge her, she continued to poke her finger against his chest as she explained. "So Himura gave up his technique because it would save Senkaku's life! Just because he was an enemy, he still respects life. Because Himura is like that!"  
  
Finished speaking, Misao crossed her arms over her chest and had a triumphant smirk. Soujiro could only stare, eyes wide with surprise and confusion. Despite Misao's answer and how much sense it made.....he still didn't understand. None of it did.  
  
'Non-killing,' he thought, the word seeming to haunt his thoughts. 'But.....that can't be right. The strong survive and the weak die.' He paused, and then suddenly finished his thought with, 'Right?'  
  
He shook his head, his smile appearing once again. "He should have killed him then," he spoke, surprising the ninja girl. "Himura with his strange non-killing ideas. He made Senkaku say such weird things."  
  
"Weird things?" questioned Misao.  
  
If Soujiro had heard Misao, which he obviously did, he chose not to answer her. Instead he shook his head before ending up staring at the floor. Misao blinked when she noticed that Soujiro's smile was still frozen on his face even as he thought. Misao tilted her head so she could look at his eyes. His eyes showed conflict like before. And again, like before, she saw that destroyed innocence flash through his eyes again between the conflict of thoughts before resorting back to their normal emotionless gaze.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Soujiro looked up at her. "I told you what happened. Senkaku said weird things and I killed him."  
  
Misao shook her head. "No not that."  
  
Soujiro tilted his head at her. "I don't know what you mean Misao."  
  
Misao pointed to his upturned lips. "Did you always smile like that?"  
  
His smile faltered, but regained itself a split second later. Her question caught him off guard and at first he didn't really know what to say. And then finally he gave her an answer.  
  
The truth.  
  
"No."  
  
*************************************************************  
  
"Hm.....I see," spoke a younger Shishio. Though he was younger, he was still his burnt up and bandaged self. The only thing that was different was his age. "They're like insistent rats, huh."  
  
He sat upon some barrels of rice. Across from him sat a small child. No features were seen because of his face buried in his arms.  
  
"After you get beaten like that," Shishio continued, "you still smile huh?"  
  
"Huh?" asked the small child, suddenly raising his head from his arms, revealing the face of a much younger Soujiro. "What?" His young mind suddenly figured out what Shishio said. "Yeah I know. Strange, isn't it?"  
  
Shishio only stared at him, waiting for him to continue.  
  
"But I wasn't always like this," Soujiro spoke again. "When I first came here, I used to cry or get angry. But if I got angry and resisted, or started to cry, they'd beat me even harder saying, shut up, don't talk back. But if I kept smiling, they lose interest in me. Even when the pain gets unbearable, or I want to hurt them.....I just keep smiling."  
  
Soujiro lowered his face into his arms again. Shishio continued to remain silent, only watching Soujiro with a searching look. A few seconds later, Soujiro raised his head again and stared at Shishio with his young smile.  
  
"That's the way it is. I was adopted.....and I'm not their real child."  
  
"You're wrong," Shishio suddenly spoke, catching Soujiro by surprise.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It doesn't matter who was beating you," exclaimed Shisho. "It's because you're weak. That's why you're wrong. The world is a survival of the fittest after all. If you're strong you survive. But if you're weak you die. A false smile does not stop this world from beating you for pleasure."  
  
Soujiro only stared, his smile forgotten and looked at Shishio with a puzzled look. 'The strong survive,' he thought, 'and the weak.....die.' He suddenly blinked with surprise when Shishio suddenly held a short sword to him, a wakizashi.  
  
"See what you can do with this. Take it as a rent for allowing me to stay here."  
  
Soujiro again only stared, now with surprise then puzzle. He hesitated, but slowly he raised his hands and took the sheathed sword.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
"What happened to you Soujiro?" Misao asked again. "I can tell you were never like this."  
  
For a moment, Soujiro didn't speak. He became deep in thought, memories running through his mind, his smile forgotten. When he did react, his Tenken smiled had returned. And before Misao could react, Soujiro's blood stained sword was held to her throat.  
  
Misao immediately held her breath, her eyes wide. She didn't move, didn't speak, or even breathe. She could only stare at Soujiro and the blade held to her throat.  
  
"You're weak," Soujiro spoke. "You should die."  
  
'He's going to kill me,' Misao thought, for once feeling fear clench her heart.  
  
But to her surprise, Misao suddenly saw the Tenken's hand that held the sword suddenly shake. There was a sudden clatter as the sword suddenly fell from Soujiro's hand, which was now on his head. Misao's first instinct was to grab the drop sword.  
  
She would too, if something wasn't holding her back.  
  
Instead, she only watched as Soujiro's smile disappeared, and had a pained look on his face. He only held his hand to his head, wondering why it pounded so painfully. Wordlessly, with a hand still to his head, Soujiro used his other hand to grab the dropped blade. He sheathed it before standing up and walking to the door.  
  
Misao watched him go. He opened the door and disappeared behind it, closing the door behind him.  
  
"A psycho is guarding me," Misao said to herself.  
  
"I told you he was crazy," spoke a fully healed Devil Misao, appearing on Misao's shoulder. "He's going to kill you instead of guarding you one day. He almost did today. What about tomorrow?"  
  
Misao didn't respond. She only stared at the floor, fingers laced together.  
  
"If I were you," continued Devil Misao, "I would think about escaping right now."  
  
And Misao found herself agreeing.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
It was raining that unusually cold night. Raindrops dropped on the ground, creating a nice rhythm. The door to the warehouse opened, and Shishio stepped forward to see the scene before him. He knew this was going to happen, and he had been planning on it to happen.  
  
Bodies were littered on the ground, five bodies to be exact. These are, or were, Soujiro's "family". The said younger Tenken stood in the center of the carnage, the short sword Shishio had given him clutched in his hand.  
  
And the sword had been stained with blood of the dead victims.  
  
Soujiro let his bangs hang in front of his face, his expression hard to figure out. Shishio leaned against the warehouse door, his knuckles against his face as he stared at Soujiro. Suddenly his eyes narrowed.  
  
"Are you crying?" he asked.  
  
Soujiro didn't respond. Instead he raised his head to the sky, letting the rain splash against his face. Finally he turned to face Shishio, his smile on his face.  
  
"No."  
  
Shishio grinned.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
'What's happening to me?' Soujiro asked himself, his hand never leaving his pounding head. 'Why is my head pounding?' Memories of that dreadful night bombarded his thoughts. He leaned against the wall, his breathing rather forced.  
  
For some reason, as he thought of reasons why this was happening to him, it ended up on Misao.  
  
"She's doing this to me," he said aloud, grimacing as another wave of pain shot through him. "But.....how is she doing this to me? And.....why?"  
  
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Author's Note: Truthfully, I'm quite proud of this chapter. I loved how it came out. I used some of my downloaded RK episodes for reference, and now you have this wonderful chapter you have just read. So did you like it? Hate it? Well whatever, just leave me a review please! 


	5. Chapter 4: Escape Attempt

Author's Note: I don't know what the hell happened. When I tried to put up this chapter last night, only half of the chapter appeared. Don't know if its because of ff.net, or because my brother decided to screw around with my computer the day before. Thankfully I'm sick from school today so I have all day to solve the problem. And I even added some bit more of Soujiro/Misao then I had recently planned for your enjoyment.  
  
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"She's been quiet lately," said one of the guards, staring at the door cautiously.  
  
"Well if I had to spend time with Soujiro I would be quiet too," said the second guard. "I wouldn't worry about it."  
  
But, unfortunately, the first guard was worrying about it. He cursed silently, wishing that this prison had a window that he could see through. "Do you think she escaped?"  
  
"I said don't worry about it. How would she be able to escape anyway? There's no way she could get out unless getting through this door. And we're guarding it."  
  
"I don't know....."  
  
"Just shut up and stay where you are. If we end up helping the girl escaping, we'll be two dead men."  
  
"But what if she already escaped?" questioned the first guard again. "Then we would already be dead but wouldn't know it."  
  
"Just leave her alone." The guard turned away from the first and stayed where he was. A minute passed, and the guard wondered if his companion had decided to drop the subject.  
  
He was proved wrong when he suddenly heard chains being removed.  
  
The guard whirled around, and saw that the first guard had already unchained and unbolted the door and was in the process of opening it. Panicking, he immediately thundered, "What are you doing!?"  
  
The first guard looked up at the second, the door slightly ajar. "Don't worry. I'm just going to check to see if she's still in there. Besides, she's probably too scared from Soujiro anyway."  
  
"Oh yeah?" the so called "scared" prisoner spoke from inside.  
  
The guard quickly turned to the door he was opening. Before he could close it, a hand suddenly shot forward and grabbed his throat, silencing any screams the guard might've let out. And, just like that, the guard was pulled into the room. The second guard watched that, paling when he saw his friend get dragged into the "den of the beast."  
  
A second later, he jumped when he suddenly heard his friend scream from inside. There was the sound of blows hitting their marks, and even the sounds of bones breaking, as the sound of the first guard screaming in terror and pain joined the sounds. The second guard almost cried out in surprise when he saw someone crawl through the door, thinking it was the insane prisoner. But it was just the first guard that was dragged into the room.  
  
And he looked like hell.  
  
One of his eyes had been swollen shut while blood dripped from a broken nose. His left arm was bent at an unusual angle meaning that it was broken and could only use his right arm to crawl. The second guard wondered if the first guard had a broken leg as well which would explain why he was crawling. The guard had successfully crawled halfway out of the room, before screaming when the prisoner grabbed him and dragged him back in.  
  
Now acting, the second guard ran to the door. There was no help for his fellow guard, he was a loss. All he was able to do now was close the door before the she-devil could escape and choose him for her next victim. He successfully closed the door and locked it.  
  
However, when he thought he was out of the woods, the door suddenly had a hole in it. The guard screamed in terror, immediately backing away. He tripped and fell on his back. He stared at the door, and saw that the witch had used the first guard as a battering ram, and effectively rammed him through the door, making a hole in it. And then, to his horror, the prisoner stepped out through the hole.  
  
"Now it's your turn," Misao said evilly, cracking her knuckles while staring down at the guard.  
  
The guard could only scream as she pounced.  
  
(I had a lot more fun making this part then you think ^^)  
  
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The pounding of his head had disappeared, and now Soujiro was in his room, wanting to collect his thoughts. Collect his thoughts, funny. The Tenken never had many thoughts to actually even think about. Not since that day when he first got the taste of death that is.  
  
He wasn't used to all these thoughts swimming around in his head. Even trying to sort them out was giving him a headache. What was going on? If only he wasn't picked to guard that Misao.....  
  
He should've killed her.  
  
But nnnooo. He didn't kill her. And now she was playing mind games with him. Was she using magic, was that it? Was she some kind of sorceress?  
  
Maybe it was a test. One that Shishio made to prove how strong Soujiro was? Many other reasons like that Soujiro thought of. But even he was doubtful about those reasons.  
  
This Misao was different from anyone he met before. She was a fiery spirited girl and hot tempered. Even with those qualities, she still had that streak of kindness and understanding in her. Even her abusiveness was a bit like a.....gentle abusiveness if that was the right way to call it. Soujiro never met anyone like that.  
  
The only people he knew were cruel and were abusive, but not like Misao's abusiveness. No one helped him before, no one protected him, and no one ever shown him kindness. The only one whoever did that was Shishio. Shishio had saved his life. He was thankful for that, and could never repay Shishio for what he did for him.  
  
Shishio trained him to be strong, something he had wanted to be. He was no longer weak like his eight year old self. He was the best, only second to Shishio. And, most important of all to Soujiro, was that Shishio gave him something to believe in. The strong surviving and the weak dying. Soujiro had believed it for ten years, and continued to believe it.  
  
Until now.  
  
Everything that had once been clear was now just a blur to Soujiro. He blamed it on Misao. But for some reason, a part of him was actually.....taking relief to it? And another part of him was actually glad that he had met Misao. It was all so confusing.  
  
"Soujiro!"  
  
Soujiro didn't realize that he had closed his eyes, wanting to actually rest after these events. He wondered if he had actually dozed off during his thinking. Opening his eyes, he looked up to find a guard in front of his opened door.  
  
"What is it?" asked Soujiro, wondering if he should kill the guard now to relieve himself of frustration from all this thinking. But before he could make a decision, the guard had already started telling him of the news.  
  
"The prisoner escaped!" explained the guard.  
  
Soujiro blinked. "Isn't it your job to make sure that doesn't happen?"  
  
"Hey I wasn't guarding her," the guard tried to defend himself with, and disappeared before Soujiro could say anymore, probably afraid of getting killed by the Tenken.  
  
Soujiro couldn't help but sigh. That was the second guard he allowed to continue living. He was getting rusty. And he also found himself blaming Misao for that too.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Misao's breathing was heavy as she limped through another hallway. It was like a maze. Every hallway only ended up to another hallway. She was even thinking that she was just walking around in circles.  
  
And she wasn't in the mood for running around in circles.  
  
Before she even made it to this maze, she had to fight off so many guards. She thought there would be no end to them. They just kept coming and coming. She won in the end. But it didn't mean she went without injuring.  
  
The limp was one of those injuries. Her black hair was just a wave of tangles, having came out of her braid during the battle. Her clothing was torn with bruises and cuts marking where the guards had successful attacks on her. But the worst wound was probably the long slash that went from her left shoulder, to her elbow.  
  
It was just a lucky shot, she had told herself. It was only a scratch after all, to her anyway. She had torn off a piece of her ninja outfit to tie a bandage around her arm. However, the bandage was quick to be drenched in blood. Misao was starting to feel light headed and weak from the battle and from the blood loss.  
  
She shook her head stubbornly and continued to limp forward. She could get out of her. She was the Okishira of the Oniwabanshu!  
  
Besides, she had no other choice.  
  
It was either get out of here, or going back to her prison with that smiling psycho Seta Soujiro. And going back to her prison, meant certain death to her. Soujiro had been close to kill her a few hours ago. She might not get lucky the next time something like that happened.  
  
"You shouldn't have listened to her," said Angel Misao, appearing on Misao's shoulder. "Counterpart's ideas are never good ones."  
  
"Shut up," Misao growled. She was not in the mood for her shoulder angel.  
  
Angel Misao shook her head. Figures that her devil counterpart would give Misao this idea and using the event of Soujiro almost killing Misao for leverage. She was going to have a little talk with her when this was over.  
  
"Do you even know where you're going?" asked Angel Misao.  
  
Misao didn't bother to respond.  
  
"I didn't think so. What happens if they send more guards after you?"  
  
"I'll just beat them," replied Misao.  
  
"And what if they send Soujiro?"  
  
"I'll kick his ass too."  
  
"With you injured as you are now? And if I remembered correctly, you didn't do so well against him last time."  
  
"I thought I told you to shut up," Misao growled again.  
  
"Hey don't blame me," said Angel Misao. "I wasn't the one who had you end up like this."  
  
Before Misao could speak again, her shoulder angel disappeared, leaving her alone once again.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
It wasn't that hard to find out where Misao went. At least to Soujiro it wasn't. All he had to do was follow the unconscious guards that Misao had left behind. Unfortunately, the little trail of guards had stopped after Soujiro had walked past the final guard. He hadn't counted, but he was sure that there were over a dozen guards that Misao had defeated.  
  
And now he stopped and stared at two hallways. He was already in the maze, but the trail of unconscious guards did not show which way Misao had went. He looked at one hallway, and then looked at the other, trying to guess which way Misao went.  
  
Shrugging, he started to walk towards the left hallway.  
  
"Help me!"  
  
Soujiro immediately stopped upon hearing the voice. 'Who was that?' he silently asked himself. That wasn't Misao's voice, but for some reason Soujiro thought that the voice sounded familiar.  
  
"Anybody please!" the voice suddenly rang out again. "Anyone! Anyone! Someone, help me!"  
  
Soujiro stepped away from the hallway he was about to travel through. Now, he turned to the right hallway where he had heard the voice. The voice definitely wasn't a guard's.  
  
The voice sounded way too young.  
  
Something suddenly caught Soujiro's eye. It was hidden in the shadows, but he could make out something near the wall of the hallway. He took some steps forward and bent down to see what it was. It was a puddle of something. And as Soujiro took a closer look, he recognized what it was.  
  
He dipped a finger into it before raising it to his face. He had been around this so many times, and was usually the one that caused this.  
  
Blood.  
  
There was no doubt in Soujiro's mind that this was the hallway Misao went through. The Tenken immediately moved down that hallway, determined to find Misao. He now followed a trail of blood instead of unconscious bodies. While he continued forward, he didn't see anyone that could've been the owner of that voice. Soujiro started wondering if he was starting to hear things.  
  
He soon shoved that in the back of his mind when he saw Misao's limping form.  
  
Even though Soujiro was looking at her back, he knew that she probably wasn't feeling exactly good right about now, considering her limp. "Misao?"  
  
The ninja girl froze before whirling around to face him. Without her hair in her usual braid, it now sprayed over her face as she turned to glare at Soujiro. She roughly pushed her hair away from in front of her face, her gaze not leaving Soujiro. For that very moment, Soujiro thought that she looked more beautiful with her hair like that. Soujiro's eyes widened for a second when he noticed the thought and immediately scolded himself silently.  
  
"Are you here to stop me?" asked Misao, getting into a fighting stance. "Because you're going to end up being beaten."  
  
"If I remember correctly Misao, I was the one that beat you last time."  
  
Misao didn't reply, her glare only intensifying. She tensed when Soujiro started walking towards her. When he was only a couple of feet away, he stopped and allowed himself to stare at her.  
  
"No," he finally said, surprising Misao.  
  
"No what?" she asked.  
  
"No, I'm not going to stop you. You can keep going if you want to Misao."  
  
Misao stared, her stance faltering slightly. She stared at him, trying to find any sign that he was kidding or not. Of course that was kind of a futile attempt with Soujiro's emotionless smile and eyes. "You're not kidding?"  
  
"I'm not kidding," he replied. "You can keep going if you want to. I'll follow you though."  
  
"And what if I find the exit? Will you let me escape?"  
  
Soujiro's smile seemed to widen. "If you can find it I'll let you escape. If not, you're coming back."  
  
There was no way in hell Misao was going back. So instead, she turned her back to Soujiro and started walking, though she took a few glances back to make sure he wasn't going to try anything.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
It was about half an hour later, and Misao had already been convinced that Soujiro wasn't going to try anything. However, she still had no idea where the exit was.  
  
"What is this place!?" she finally exploded. "A maze!?"  
  
"Actually it is," replied Soujiro, following her from behind. "This was built on purpose to keep intruders from coming through. There's even a chance that you can get lost forever in here."  
  
"And why are you smiling about it!? Aren't you worried about getting lost in this place too!?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well why not!?"  
  
"Because I've memorized the several hallways. I even traveled around here myself to make sure I knew where the exit was. And if I'm not mistaken, you're moving farther away from the exit then getting closer to it."  
  
"Just shut up," Misao said, continuing to move forward. "I'll get out of here."  
  
"Whatever you say Misao."  
  
Misao growled, gritting her teeth as she forced her legs to keep moving. How she hated that smiling baka. One way or another, she was going to bring him pain. Lots of it.  
  
She stopped take a look at two more hallways in front of her that went into two separate directions. Picking the right one, she moved forward.  
  
"I think the left one would be a better choice Misao," Soujiro spoke, having been silent during the whole half hour.  
  
Misao stopped. She glanced over her shoulder to glare at him. "And what if you're trying to trick me?"  
  
Soujiro shrugged.  
  
Growling again, she continued through the right hallway anyway. It was about ten minutes later did she suddenly started to stumble before falling to her knees, a hand to her head.  
  
"Are you alright Misao?" asked Soujiro, standing over her.  
  
"Fine," she replied curtly. Truthfully, she wasn't. She could feel herself becoming weaker, and everything was starting to get blurry. She stood up, took a few more steps, stumbled, and fell to her knees again.  
  
"I don't think you are fine Misao," said Soujiro, standing behind her once again.  
  
Misao couldn't take it. Standing up straight and turning around she swung her fist at Soujiro. The Tenken knocked her fist away, taking note how Misao's blow was a lot weaker compared to the ones she had thrown at him during their first fight. He sidestepped, letting another weak punch fly by him. Before Misao could try to punch him a third time, his foot came up and knocked her legs out from under her.  
  
Misao cried out in surprise as she fell. But soon, her cry of surprise became that of pain as she landed on the ground, falling on her wounded arm.  
  
Soujiro immediately searched her. He hadn't meant to hurt her. Just knock her down. He found his answer soon enough however when she saw that part of her clothing had been wrapped around her arm as a bandage. It didn't take him long either to notice how the bandage was stained with blood.  
  
"We should head back Misao," advised Soujiro. "You won't be able to move much longer with those injuries."  
  
"You can't tell me what to do," Misao retorted, getting back on her feet with shaky legs. She charged at Soujiro, planning to hit him hard with this blow. It was then did her strength suddenly seemed to disappear. She fell forward, and collapsed against Soujiro, who wrapped his arms around her to hold her up.  
  
Soujiro looked down at the weakened girl, and Misao was actually able to see concern in his eyes. But she only thought of it as her imagination. And soon, her vision went black.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Misao woke up, resting on a futon and staring at a ceiling. She looked at her surroundings, and found herself in a room.  
  
'This isn't my room,' she thought to herself. She sat up, and immediately regretted it when pain shot through her body and ended up lying back down. Now looking at herself, she was surprised to see bandages wrapped around her body, especially her arm. 'How did this happen?'  
  
Finally, she remembered where she was. She back in her prison. Wondering how the hell she got back, she tried to remember what happened. She had tried to escape, she remembered that. Got lost in a maze, Soujiro followed her, and.....now she was here.  
  
"Oh you're awake."  
  
Misao already knew who it was before she even turned around. Even though she would like to get the mere memory of him out of her mind, his annoying smiling face would still be there. And she soon saw the smiling face when she turned around to see Soujiro.  
  
"Well at least you didn't die," he said, sitting next to her. "Your wounds were a lot more serious when I got a closer look at them."  
  
It took a while for Misao's tired mind to process what the Tenken just said. Even more time to process that she was dressed in different clothing. But when she did..... "HENTAI!!!" She got up and tried to slap him, but that didn't end up being a good idea.  
  
Soujiro ducked under the slap, and Misao felt her strength suddenly disappear like before and ended up falling with half of her body lying on the floor sprawled. Soujiro looked down at her, wagging a finger at her.  
  
"You shouldn't do that Misao. You are not that healed." He moved over to her to try to help her get back into the futon. But despite how weak Misao was at the moment, she slapped his helping hands away.  
  
Soujiro couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't worry Misao. I didn't do that. I had Yumi change your clothes. Even if I am a killer I wouldn't violate your privacy like that. And for your wounds, the only serious one was the one on your arm."  
  
He went to help her again, and this time she didn't push him away. Now lying on the futon again, Misao looked at Soujiro with questioning, though she smiled lightly with amusement. "I didn't think a Tenken that only killed knew how to heal injuries."  
  
Soujiro shrugged. "When I was young, I had to heal my own injuries. I had plenty of practice."  
  
Whether it was because her mind was too tired to understand what Soujiro had said, or if it was because she was too tired to even ask what he meant by that. But in the end, Misao could only nod. Soujiro held a hand to her forehead.  
  
"You seem to be a little hot Misao. You should get some rest."  
  
Misao could only nod again before closing her eyes. And back to dreamland she went.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Author's Note: If you're reading this part then woohoo! Another chapter done! I got a little more Soujiro/Misao into this chapter then I planned to. But don't worry. In the next chapter, there will be a bit more Soujiro/Misao. So be happy. If you want more Soujiro/Misao moments, you'll get more. 


	6. Chapter 5: The Past

Author's Note: Doo doo doo. I might actually complete this fic. Only about five more chapters left for this fic, more or less. And this chapter is going to have Soujiro/Misao moments. So fans of the coupling rejoice! Now let's get to the fic.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Soujiro placed a wet cloth onto Misao's forehead. The ninja girl's face was flushed and she breathed heavily as she slept, sweat on her face. Taking a few herbs next to him, Soujiro placed them in a tea cup next to him.  
  
It seemed that Misao was sick. Though it wasn't really a surprise. Having walked around in a maze with the injuries she had, it wasn't exactly hard for her to catch a sickness. Soujiro had known of the consequences of her actions, and mentally scolded himself for not having stopped Misao when he had found her in the maze.  
  
'Seems I'm scolding myself a lot,' thought Soujiro. 'I better stop or I'll end up like Yumi.'  
  
Though the Tenken found the thought amusing, it didn't last for long. Mistakes were something he wasn't used to making. But then again, he hadn't been given the assignment of guarding a prisoner. A pretty prisoner with sparkling green eyes and.....  
  
Soujiro blinked. And, for the umpteenth time, scolded himself. Why was he having these thoughts all of a sudden? Then again, why were all these events happening all of a sudden?  
  
Senkaku, these non-killing ideas, memories suddenly resurfacing, these headaches, and these emotions flooding through him. What was going on?  
  
And it was at that very moment, did a puff of white smoke appear over his right shoulder.  
  
Soujiro's hand was already on the hilt of his sword when the puff of smoke disappeared. A minute passed. Soujiro blinked.....and blinked again.  
  
'I'm seeing things,' he thought to himself.  
  
He was staring at.....himself. A miniature version of himself actually. This one wore a white toga, and held a harp in his hand. A halo hovered over this Soujiro's head and white feathery wings were attached to his back.  
  
This was Angel Soujiro.  
  
Soujiro did not need this. Sighing, he added "seeing imaginary people" into his list of strange events that have happened to him.  
  
"Having trouble with that head of yours Soujiro?" asked Angel Soujiro.  
  
Soujiro blinked yet again. Did this.....miniature him just speak? He now added "hearing imaginary people speak" to his list.  
  
And that was when a small flame appeared on Soujiro's left shoulder.  
  
Having thought his shoulder had somehow came on fire, he immediately patted down on his shoulder.  
  
"Ow! Hey watch what you're doing!"  
  
Soujiro froze. He removed his hand from his shoulder and could only stare at the SECOND miniature him that was now on his left shoulder.  
  
"I get no respect," said the second miniature Soujiro, standing up and dusting himself off. This miniature Soujiro was different. He wore a tight red leather suit, had a trident instead of a harp, and instead of a halo he had devil like horns on the top of his head.  
  
This was Devil Soujiro.  
  
Soujiro stared at the Devil Soujiro. Then he turned to the Angel Soujiro, and repeated the process. This was something he didn't see everyday.  
  
As he tried to think of something to say, Soujiro got nothing. For once, he was speechless.  
  
"I think he died on us," said Devil Soujiro, poking his trident against Soujiro's face.  
  
Angel Soujiro flapped his wings and hovered over Soujiro's face, waving his small hands in front of Soujiro. "Hey Soujiro!"  
  
Now out of his speechless state, Soujiro suddenly pulled out his sword and pointed the tip of the blade at Angel Soujiro. "Who are you?" he asked. "Is this some sorcery?"  
  
Angel Soujiro shook his head. Raising his harp, he slapped Soujiro's sword away from him. Soujiro stared before pointing his sword at Angel Soujiro again, only to have it knocked away again. The blade was pointed at Angel Soujiro once again, and it was slapped away by said shoulder angel.  
  
'For a little guy he's pretty strong,' Soujiro thought.  
  
"Even though I like the image of a blade being pointed at my counter part there, can we move on?" asked Devil Soujiro, leaning against his trident. He suddenly turned to the sleeping Misao. "Hey that's her?" He let out a low whistle as he patted Soujiro's shoulder. "Good catch there buddy. She's a keeper."  
  
"What?" was all Soujiro was able to say. This was getting very confusing for our smiling Tenken here.  
  
"Okay I'll explain," said Angel Soujiro. "Because of your emotions suddenly being released, you now have a shoulder angel and shoulder devil. On your left shoulder is your shoulder devil, he's your dark half. And I'm your shoulder angel, your light half. And we're here to help you solve your problems."  
  
Soujiro only stared.  
  
"The shoulder angels can never get to the point," grumbled Devil Soujiro. "To make it simple we're here to help you with Misao there."  
  
"What about Misao?" asked Soujiro.  
  
"Well duh. Why haven't you made a move on her!?"  
  
"What!?" thundered Angel Soujiro.  
  
"Dude!" continued Devil Soujiro. "She's asleep! This is your chance!"  
  
Soujiro blinked, and took note that all he was doing lately was scolding himself and blinking. The Tenken looked at Misao. For once, Soujiro actually took notice of what Yumi had changed Misao into. It was just a simple kimono. Of course that's not what suddenly caught Soujiro's attention. The blanket over Misao had lowered, exposing her clothed upper half.  
  
And he couldn't help but notice how the kimono seemed a bit.....loose there.  
  
For some reason unknown to Soujiro, he suddenly felt his face suddenly grow hot. Wondering if he had somehow gotten sick, he held a hand to his own forehead.  
  
"Aw come on!" spoke Devil Soujiro. "Just take a peek! She won't know!"  
  
"No!" objected Angel Soujiro. "Bad! Bad bad bad!"  
  
"What do you know you hormone challenged baka!?"  
  
"Enough!" Soujiro ordered, silencing his shoulder angel and devil. Soujiro held a hand to his head, feeling another headache coming on. These things were happening to fast, he couldn't take it. "Listen, how do I make you two go away? Can you two just leave or something?"  
  
"That'll do," answered Angel Soujiro, disappearing in a puff of white smoke.  
  
"Spoiled sport," said Devil Soujiro before disappearing in a flame.  
  
Soujiro sighed. His headache slowly started to recede, giving him some relief. He found himself looking down at the sleeping Misao once again. Shaking his head, he grabbed the blanket and pulled it back up over her chest.  
  
This was definitely something that never happened to Soujiro. And something that he wished Shishio had prepared him for.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Misao woke up to a major headache. Grimacing, she held a hand to her head. Instead of flesh though, she felt a wet cloth on her forehead. Her eyes opened and only found to have her vision blurry.  
  
She shook her head, and immediately regretted it when her head started to spin. She groaned in pain and just stuck with lying on her futon.  
  
"Awake?" asked a very familiar voice.  
  
Misao turned her head to the voice. She had to blink a few times to clear her blurry vision. But, nonetheless, she soon saw the smiling face of the Tenken. "What's wrong with me?" she asked, her throat kind of dry when she spoke.  
  
"Well it looks like you're sick Misao," said Soujiro. He took the wet cloth off of Misao's forehead and placed it back in the bowl of water. Now taking the tea pot, he poured some of the liquid into a cup. "You should drink some of this. It will probably help you get better."  
  
Misao slowly tried to sit up, and ended up having to rely on Soujiro's hand on her back for support. He held the cup to her lips and she drank some of the liquid. Though as weak as she was, she still made a face at the bitter taste of it. She never did like medicine. She slowly drained the cup and Soujiro gently placed her back on the futon. The wet cloth was now back in Soujiro's hand and he placed it back on Misao's forehead.  
  
"Did the oversized bacon tell you to take care of me?" asked Misao, once she was able to talk better.  
  
Soujiro chose not to reply for a few seconds. "Shishio doesn't know you're sick," he answered.  
  
Misao stared at him with surprise. "Why doesn't he know?"  
  
"He wouldn't have cared."  
  
"And you do?"  
  
Soujiro, again, didn't reply just yet. Instead, he pondered Misao's question. Did he really care? He wasn't very sure.  
  
Caring was something else he didn't understand much about. The only one he had cared about before was himself. Every cut he received, every bruise, every scar, he had no one to care for his wounds. He only had himself and no one else.  
  
So instead of answering Misao's question, he did the opposite and said nothing. Misao had watched him, waiting for an answer. Not receiving one, Misao could only help but allow a small smile to form.  
  
Guess the Tenken wasn't such a bad guy as she had originally thought.  
  
There was silence after that, with Misao watching Soujiro. She tried to go to sleep, except she couldn't seem to close her eyes and stay that way long enough for her dreams to take her off somewhere.  
  
A sudden hum caused Misao to open her eyes again. Turning back to Soujiro again, she saw that he was the one doing the humming.  
  
"Where did you learn that tune?' she asked, wondering if Soujiro tried to think of tunes to hum during his spare time. Though, with his bizarre personality, it wasn't hard to believe.  
  
"The tune came from my last target before I was assigned to guard you," he answered. "He was humming it before I killed him."  
  
"Well that's.....nice."  
  
Soujiro shrugged and continued to hum.  
  
"What do you think about when you kill?"  
  
Soujiro stopped his humming and looked back at Misao. No one had asked him a question like that before. He shrugged again and replied, "Things."  
  
"What things?"  
  
"Usually about hoping that the next victim won't be as weak as the other," replied Soujiro, causing Misao's face to fault as he smiled. "It's no fun when they're beaten easily."  
  
"Figures. Is there anyone who you don't think is weak?"  
  
"Shishio."  
  
"Should've seen that one coming." Though Misao sighed, the sudden mention of Shishio suddenly caused a spark of curiosity in her. "What's so good about bacon man anyway? What did he ever do that made you do everything he asks for you?"  
  
"When you don't have such confusing questions Misao, you only have easy ones," noted Soujiro. "He saved my life."  
  
Misao was silent, muttering a small, "Oh."  
  
"If it weren't for Shishio," continued Soujiro, "I wouldn't be as strong as I am now. In fact, I may have died ten years ago."  
  
"Ten years ago?" repeated Misao, now even more curious. "What happened back then?"  
  
Misao knew she had hit a sore spot when she saw the corners of Soujiro's lips start to go down instead of up. And if that wasn't enough, the Tenken didn't speak for ten minutes. Misao didn't pry during that time, not wanting to somehow make Soujiro go psycho on her like last time.  
  
"Do you know your parents?" asked Soujiro.  
  
Misao was caught of guard by the change of subject, but still answered. "I had known them when I was little. But that was a long time ago. I don't remember what they look even like anymore."  
  
"You were lucky to at least have seen them, even if you don't remember them. I've never seen mine."  
  
Misao was now sitting up on her futon, despite the slight dizziness she felt at doing the task. "Did you have any family?" she asked.  
  
"You can say that," mused Soujiro. "They didn't exactly treat me like part of their family."  
  
The ninja girl's eyes widened as the information sunk in. 'He said that Shishio saved his life,' she thought to herself. 'Was it his family that he was being saved from?' She hesitated, but out loud she asked, in a quiet voice, "What did they do?" In the back of her mind, she had a feeling she knew what happened. Actually, she didn't know exactly what they did to Soujiro.  
  
She could only guess.  
  
"It wasn't much. Just forced me to do all the labor, sleep outside at night, and get beaten even if I do the littlest task wrong."  
  
Misao was right. She was only able to guess what they did to him. And now, it seemed that Soujiro's torture went farther then she had guessed.  
  
Having been in a home with people that cared for her, Misao never experienced close to what Soujiro had experienced. Which was why Misao was having trouble grasping why people like Soujiro's "family", would do the things they did. And Soujiro said that he would've died ten years ago. 'Which means he was eight when that all happened to him,' thought Misao.  
  
Misao felt a stab of pain in her heart. She was wrong about Soujiro, really wrong. She felt pity for him like last time.  
  
"What about Shishio?" asked Misao, though a part of her really didn't want to know.  
  
"A funny story actually," replied Soujiro.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
The eight year old Soujiro pulled on the rope, causing the bucket in the well to rise. Once he completed the task of getting the now water filled bucket up, he placed it down on the ground next to him. Taking a cloth that he had brought with him, the soon to be Tenken placed it in the bucket, soaking it. After making sure it was wet enough, he pressed the cloth against a bruise on his forehead.  
  
Soujiro winced as the cloth touched the injury. This wasn't anything new. Every time he would be beaten, he would go out to take care of his injuries.  
  
But today was going to be different.  
  
There was a sudden clash of swords and a scream. Soujiro's eyes widened as he jumped. He moved the cloth away from his forehead and looked at where he heard the scream. It was a second later did another scream reach his young ears. Dropping the wet cloth, Soujiro ran forward to the voices.  
  
Soujiro took a turn and now ran between two houses. He saw a shadow appear at the end of the alley, as a battle cry was issued. That battle cry soon turned to a death cry as the shadow disappeared, and a different one replaced it.  
  
Soujiro stopped at the end of the alley between the houses. He poked his head out from the alley and looked to see what was happening. His young blue eyes widened as he watched the scene.  
  
One of the men's back was turned to Soujiro. The young Tenken immediately took notice that the man was covered in bandages, and there were dead bodies on the ground around him. In front of him, stood another man, this one with an outfit of a police officer.  
  
The outfit that the dead men wore.  
  
Both the bandaged man and the policeman held swords, and seemed to be facing off against each other. The policeman raised his sword.....and had his arms sliced off by the bandaged man. Before the police officer had time to scream, he ended up sliced in half.  
  
Soujiro felt his heart hammer in his chest. It took a few seconds for his brain to process the message that had been sent to it. Run. Soujiro took a step back.....and froze when he stepped on a twig.  
  
The bandaged man seemed to have heard the snap of the twig. And, to Soujiro's horror, the man turned to face him.  
  
"You saw me," he said, turning fully to face the eight year old. "Brat."  
  
Soujiro took a few steps back, and stopped when he walked back into a house. He let himself slide to the ground, fear rooting him to it as he stared up at the man. The man had already started walking towards Soujiro, sword in hand.  
  
"Because you've seen me," he spoke again, "I'll have to kill you."  
  
Soujiro wasn't able to do anything. Fear seemed to control him now, as it seemed as if his limbs suddenly froze. The man now stood over Soujiro, and raised his sword. Though there was no sunlight, there was moonlight. And that light seemed to surround his sword in a bright aura.  
  
But he didn't strike, not just yet. Instead, he only stared down at Soujiro, suddenly confused. "Would dying make you happy?"  
  
"Huh?" Soujiro was able to say. "What?" It suddenly came to him that he was smiling, something he would do when he was being beaten. When he saw the man's sword coming down, he immediately closed his eyes, waiting for death to take him.  
  
But it never came.  
  
"Brat," the man suddenly spoke, causing Soujiro to open his eyes and look up at him. I'll let you live if you get me bandages and food."  
  
*************************************************************  
  
The man tightened the new bandages around him. "Good," he said. "Now I feel much better." There were three rice balls in front of him, food that Soujiro had said he would get.  
  
"Excuse me, old man?" the said young boy spoke, hiding behind some rice barrels away from the man.  
  
"Huh?" The man turned to where Soujiro was hiding, who immediately ducked behind the barrels when he had been seen. "I'm not old and I have a name. Makoto Shishio. That's my name."  
  
Soujiro slowly appeared from the barrels, and stared at Shishio. Shishio had already taken one of the riceballs and bit into it. Soujiro watched him. But that was when his curiosity kicked in.  
  
"Ex.....excuse me, Shishio?" he timidly asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Well.....I.....um.....Shishio, you killed those police officers.....so.....are you a bad person?"  
  
"The Meiji government are the bad ones," replied Shishio, taking a second riceball after finishing the first. "They used me as they saw fit. After that they tried to burn me to death."  
  
"So you're a good person?" asked Soujiro hopefully, now smiling.  
  
"No." Shishio turned to Soujiro. "I'm a sadistic killer."  
  
Soujiro did a face fault, and quickly ran to some rice barrels farther away before hiding behind them, suddenly shaking in fear.  
  
"Don't run, don't run," said Shishio. "I already said I wouldn't kill you."  
  
Soujiro was put slightly at ease, though he didn't move forward. He still stayed behind the rice barrels.  
  
"I kind of like this place," continued Shishio, taking the final riceball. "They won't find me unless you tell them." He made quick work of the riceball before standing up and moving to another stack of rice barrels and lying against it, putting his hands behind his head. "I'm gonna stay a while."  
  
'I think that man is a bad person,' thought Soujiro, staring at the now sleeping Shishio. 'But.....' The image of the policeman being sliced in two by Shishio appeared in his mind. 'He's a very strong bad person.'  
  
*************************************************************  
  
"I still have the sword Shishio had given me," Soujiro said to Misao, who had been silent so far during his story telling. "I've treasured it for ten long years."  
  
"What about your family?" questioned Misao. "Did they ever find out?" She immediately scolded herself. Of course they found out!  
  
"It was inevitable."  
  
*************************************************************  
  
The grandmother of Soujiro's so called family walked through the house, looking for something. Stopping at a door, she opened it up to find the two brothers and the father in a room. The older brother (Truthfully I don't know if he's the older one) was busy sharpening his sword, with the younger smoking and the father drinking.  
  
"Hey you guys," the grandmother spoke. "You know where the bandages are?"  
  
"Huh?" asked the older brother. "How should we know?"  
  
"It's strange. I wonder where they all went. I know Soujiro's been stealing rice out of the warehouse to eat. But the bandages?"  
  
"We kick his ass so much he might have used them all," said the younger brother, grinning at the memory of Soujiro being beaten."  
  
"Even so, every bandage in the house is gone," spoke the grandmother again. He couldn't use them all."  
  
The older brother had suddenly became deep in thought as he cleaned his sword. He stopped in his cleaning before looking up at his father. "Hey father, didn't the assassin have burns all over his body?"  
  
"What about it?" asked the father, as him and the younger brother looked at him.  
  
The thought suddenly struck home.  
  
"Soujiro," growled the father. "You bastard."  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Shishio sat on the barrels of rice, staring at nothing in particular. Out the window of the warehouse, dark clouds formed in the sky. Shishio suddenly sat up, and looked down at his bandaged hands.  
  
"My burns are throbbing with pain," he said to himself. He held one of them to his forehead as he took a glance back to see the gathering storm. "A storm is coming."  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Soujiro rubbed his cold feet together as he sat upon a pile of logs. A blanket was draped over him, but that wasn't enough to block the unusual cold night. He held his hands to his mouth and breathed hot air onto them. He paused to look down at his hands, that had been blistered from all the barrels of rice he had to move.  
  
"I guess," he suddenly spoke, "it must be really painful to be cut by a sword." He held a hand to his face from where he got hit from the father during the beating, when the brothers had ruined a barrel of rice and blamed it on him. "When I get punched by a fist, it hurts so much. So I'm sure....."  
  
Soujiro trailed off and stared forward, lost in thought as the wind blew his brown hair.  
  
"I'm gonna give him back that sword." Of course, the him Soujiro was referring to was Shishio. Having been given the wakizashi as a rent, Soujiro had immediately hid it under one of the houses. Standing up from his sitting position, letting the blanket drop from his shoulders, he looked up at the darkening sky.  
  
"I'll never be strong like Shishio." He started walking forward. "I'm weak, but it doesn't really bother me."  
  
"Soujiro! Where are you Soujiro!?"  
  
Soujiro stopped, hearing the voice of the older brother. He turned to where he heard the voice. Making an about face, Soujiro walked that way.  
  
"What's happening this late at night?"  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Lightning started to clash and thunder boomed as Soujiro stared with surprise and confusion. Standing before him, his family stood before him.  
  
And they looked angry.  
  
"Soujiro!" the older brother growled, glaring hatefully at him. "How dare you lie to me damn it!"  
  
Soujiro felt the pain of the older brother's sword colliding with the side of his face. Fortunately, the sword had been sheathed, and all that the blow did to Soujiro was knock him down to the ground.  
  
"Soujiro!" shouted the father. "How can you betray the government by helping a killer!?" He held up his own sheathed blade. "Bastard! You want me to lose my rice business!?" Raising the sword, him and the older brother did the dirty work of landing blows on the helpless Soujiro. "I'll never let you do that! Tell me! Where is the assassin!?"  
  
Soujiro wasn't able to do anything except let the blows land on his fallen form. New bruises formed, and old cuts reopened to join new ones. By the time the beating was done, Soujiro was coughing up blood as he lied on the ground, his body sore and in pain.  
  
"You god damn brat!" shouted the older brother, bring up his sheathed sword again. "I can't stand you anymore!" Instead of giving Soujiro another hit, all he did was unsheathe his sword. "I'll kill you myself!"  
  
Soujiro's eyes were now wide, and he turned fearful eyes on the now unsheathed sword.  
  
"Hey hey," the sister suddenly spoke. "Not here brother. What if somebody hears him?"  
  
"No, it'd be okay," assured the younger brother. "Don't worry. There's a wanted assassin hiding around here. If this little bastard was murdered, who'd think twice about it? Everything would be fine. Just call the cops after we kill him. That's all."  
  
"Yeah, why not!?" asked the sister excitedly. "We might get some kind of reward from the government! Because we've helped the investigation!"  
  
"I won't let you destroy my rice company!" the father continued to shout at Soujiro.  
  
"We feed you and put clothes on your back," the grandmother spoke hatefully at Soujiro. "Then you try to bring our business down."  
  
"Kill him brother," urged the younger brother.  
  
"Yeah, I'll kill him," said the older.  
  
Soujiro didn't hear anymore. He only stared at them, fear getting a tight grip around his heart. The words that they spoken repeated in his mind over and over again. In the end, only one thought echoed within his mind.  
  
If you're strong, you survive. If you're weak.....  
  
Soujiro suddenly screamed in terror. They were going to kill him! Now on his feet, he quickly ran. He didn't know where, he just wanted to get away from them.  
  
He just wanted to live!  
  
"Try and run!" shouted the older brother, running after Soujiro.  
  
"Cut him down!" said the father, following the older brother.  
  
Soujiro ran, the fear of being killed pushing him forward. "Help me!" he cried. "Anybody please! Anyone! Anyone! Somebody help me!"  
  
But no one was going to help him. He was alone.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
"He disappeared?" wondered the older brother, as him and the father stopped in front of a house.  
  
"Shit!" cursed the father. "Where'd he go?"  
  
The younger brother came up behind them. He suddenly saw something at the corner of his eye and turned around.  
  
Footprints, leading under the house.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Soujiro clutched the wakizashi Shishio had given him. He gasped loudly, hearing his own heart pound as it hammered against his chest. His eyes were wide, filled with fear.  
  
"They're gonna kill me," he gasped, clutching the sword tightly as he closed his eyes, and calling out to the only person he knew that could possibly help him. "Help me Shishio!"  
  
But it wasn't Shishio's voice that Soujiro heard next.  
  
"Found you!"  
  
Soujiro's eyes were opened wide again. He turned and saw the younger brother had found him, and was now crawling towards the scared Soujiro.  
  
"Such a good place to hide," said the younger brother.  
  
Soujiro moved back, and all he could do was hold the sheathed sword between him and the brother. The brother paused in his crawling and just stared at the sword.  
  
"Huh? The small sword looks expensive." He the resumed crawling forward. "Did you steal it from the rice warehouse? Give it here." Now close enough, the brother raised a hand and let it move towards the sword.  
  
'The world is a survival of the fittest,' Soujiro suddenly heard Shishio voice in his mind. And Soujiro couldn't help as his own thoughts echoed with Shishio's words.  
  
The younger brother grabbed the sheath sword, and slowly tugged on the sheath, slowly revealing the blade.  
  
'The strong survive,' Soujiro thought, as memories of the fight between Shishio and the policeman went through his mind again.  
  
The younger brother finished pulling the sheath, and the whole blade now revealed itself.  
  
'The weak.....'  
  
*************************************************************  
  
A scream tore through the night and the rest of the family now stood in front of the house that the younger brother had went under, saying that he found Soujiro.  
  
"I guess he's dead," spoke the father.  
  
"What a cowardly scream," noted the sister.  
  
"That shows in his breeding," put in the grandmother.  
  
A body suddenly appeared from under the house and lied a few yards away from the family, who immediately turned to see it.  
  
"He came out?" questioned the grandmother.  
  
Lightning clashed.....and the sister and grandmother screamed as the light showed that the body wasn't Soujiro's.  
  
It was the younger brother's.  
  
"Ya.....Yanosuke!" cried the older brother.  
  
There was another sound, this one coming from behind the family. They immediately turned around, and saw Soujiro appear from under the house. The now bloodstained sword of the wakizashi was held in his hand, as he let his bangs hide his eyes.  
  
"The world will always be a survival of the fittest," Soujiro said quietly. "Strong survive.....and....."  
  
"You brat!" shouted the older brother, charging at Soujiro.  
  
"I'll kill you!" joined the father, who also charged.  
  
"The weak....." Soujiro turned towards the charging brother and father, revealing the smile on his face and the emotions having disappeared from his eyes.  
  
Another lightning bolt sliced through the night sky. Soujiro screamed once again as he killed the family that had wanted to kill him.  
  
Every.....last.....one.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Soujiro was now silent. Though he had spoken the darkest parts of his past, he still smiled. But, as he turned to Misao, he suddenly had confusion written on his face.  
  
The ninja girl was staring at him with wide eyes. And Soujiro could only stare at her, watching as different emotions went through her green eyes.  
  
Emotions weren't the only things that came from her eyes.  
  
"Are you crying?" questioned Soujiro, tilting his head to the side as he saw a droplet of water slid down Misao's face.  
  
Misao didn't speak. Actually, she didn't speak for quite some time. Soujiro continued to stare at her questioningly, wondering if Misao's sickness had suddenly started taking effect on her again.  
  
He suddenly blinked in surprise when Misao's arms suddenly wrapped around his neck as she hugged him. For once, Soujiro wasn't sure what to do, or even say.  
  
Whether it was some unconscious part of his mind, he didn't know. But what Soujiro found himself doing was hugging the girl back.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Author's Note: Dddaaammmnnn! This was a hell of a long chapter. Kind of freaky too. Well, once again you have the episodes I downloaded to thank for this chapter. And even better, more moments of Soujiro/Misao. Hoped you like this chapter. And I better get reviews for this, because this is probably the longest chapter of this fic. 


	7. Chapter 6: The Order

Author's Note: Dude! I saw The Last Samurai and.....damn! That was a great movie! If any of you haven't seen it yet, I command thee to go out and get it! Anyway, I was going to work on my other fics today.....but the movie inspired me to get this chapter up. Another reason to go out and get it, lol. Now, about the greatest humor scene is in this chapter. So hope you have fun.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------  
  
Misao yelped as she fell on her back.  
  
"Too slow Misao," taunted Soujiro, smiling down at the fallen ninja girl.  
  
"I'll get you," grumbled Misao. She stood up and wiped some sweat from her brow. Happy to be in her newly repaired ninja outfit, Misao got into a stance and kept her gaze on Soujiro.  
  
It has been a few days since Misao first became a prisoner. And, despite Soujiro being her enemy, she now had a small bond with the Tenken and vice versa. Soujiro had even repaired her ninja outfit for her, saying that he was bored and needed something to do.  
  
How they got into this situation was a bit of a funny tale.  
  
Having gotten back her usual outfit, Misao made quick work to change out of the stupid kimono. She hated dressing up in kimonos. And considering how she had worn the kimono for days.....well lets just say Soujiro couldn't help but notice that some pieces of the clothing had been ripped out. Anyway, back to the story.  
  
Soujiro could only stare at her. He had seen her in her outfit before. But now he seemed to really look at her.  
  
"You fight in that thing?" he had asked.  
  
Misao looked down at her outfit. Puzzled, she looked back at him with a questioning look. "Yeah. What about it?  
  
Soujiro had felt the heat on his face as he tried to find the right words. "Don't you think it reveals a bit.....much?"  
  
Misao again looked down at her outfit. Then, understanding what he meant, immediately put her gaze back on him. "What do you think I should fight in baka!?" she shouted, her face tinted with some redness. "And why would you care anyway!?"  
  
"Well, if you kicked a little too high....."  
  
"You hentai!"  
  
"At least that outfit is tied securely. Can't say the same for the kimono though."  
  
Again, it took Misao time for the message to reach her brain. Took three more seconds to process. And then.....  
  
"HENTAI!!!"  
  
And now we have Misao trying to rearrange Soujiro's smiling face.  
  
Soujiro ducked from another swing of a fist and leapt back when she tried to give him a good kick. Another punch was thrown, and this time he caught it. Misao didn't have time to react because she was soon thrown across the room. She felt her back collide with the wall and slid down it.  
  
She didn't bother to pick herself up. Instead, the Okishira just stood on her head upside down, her back against the wall. The girl crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the Tenken. Soujiro found amusement at the sight of the upside down ninja girl.  
  
He took a few steps towards Misao until he was close enough to reach out, grab one of Misao's raised feet, and tug on it. This caused Misao to tumble onto the floor and soon she was on her back on the floor, and stared up at the ceiling with arms still crossed. Soujiro stood over her once again, his head tilted as he smiled down at her and she glared up at him.  
  
Moments later, Soujiro suddenly blinked. Leaning down to Misao, he raised both eyebrows at her.  
  
"What is it?" asked Misao.  
  
"You stink."  
  
Soujiro got kicked in the face for that.  
  
"Of course I stink!" Misao shouted, standing up. "It's been days since I last had a bath! And with what happened here, of course I stink!"  
  
Soujiro had a hand over where Misao had kicked him, even though the blow hadn't really hurt. It wasn't his fault that Misao smelled bad.  
  
"You can go in the bath house," said Soujiro. "It is near here."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"You never asked."  
  
Misao grumbled.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------  
  
The guards didn't protest about Soujiro taking Misao out of her prison. It's probably because they didn't want Soujiro to turn on them. However, they did seem to pale when Misao appeared.  
  
Obviously, it seems that word had gone out about what Misao had done to the last two guards, as well as the dozen of others that were now walking through Shishio's lair with limps.  
  
Misao took delight in their scared looks, giving a good boast to her pride. Despite her pride having been damaged from Soujiro, she could still recover it by beating the hell out of the guards. Such a sweet little girl isn't she?  
  
Anyway, it seemed that Soujiro was right about the bath house being bear. Misao mentally wondered why she hadn't seen it when she had tried to escape. Then again, she was busy beating the guards to a pulp so it wouldn't have been that hard to miss it. Soujiro had already gotten the bath ready by the time they got there. So all Misao had to do was go in and enjoy being in a bath again.  
  
"And you better not come in," Misao warned before she had went into the bath house.  
  
"I'll be standing right here," assured Soujiro, turning his back to the bath house as Misao went in.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------  
  
Misao couldn't help but sigh in content as she sat in the bath. The hot water was like a miracle worker to her body, as it put her tense muscles at ease. And with some kind of unwritten tradition with long hair, Misao had turned her long braid into a bun at the top of her head. Finally being able to take a bath, Misao was actually able to relax.  
  
No guards, no smiling killers, no bacon men, no nothing. Misao was alone and able to relax.  
  
"I think the bath should be hotter," a voice suddenly spoke.  
  
"It seems fine to me," another voice replied.  
  
Misao opened her closed eyes. What she saw made her groan.  
  
She forgot these two.  
  
"It still is good I guess," said Devil Misao, her head poking out of the water. Her once broken horn seemed to have been bandaged back together. Any other injuries she got from the fight with her counter part were gone.  
  
"My wings like it," said Angel Misao, a relaxed smile on her face as her now wet wings stretched.  
  
"What are you two doing here?" groaned Misao, her chance of peace gone.  
  
"Nice to see you too," greeted Devil Misao. "We just came here to have a nice bath like you are."  
  
"Sure you are....."  
  
"We're here to talk about Soujiro," explained Angel Misao.  
  
"Not again," grumbled Misao.  
  
"Don't whine," said Devil Misao.  
  
"I'm not whining. I'm just wishing that I never had a shoulder angel and devil."  
  
"Well too bad."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------  
  
Meanwhile......  
  
"Hello Soujiro," greeted Angel Soujiro, appearing on Soujiro's shoulder.  
  
"You again?" asked Soujiro.  
  
"Don't forget me," said Devil Soujiro.  
  
"Just when I thought I was just imagining you two."  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------  
  
"Now what are you going to be blabbing about?" questioned Misao, glaring at her shoulder angel and devil.  
  
"Where to start where to start," muttered Angel Misao, a hand to her chin as she thought.  
  
"He looked under your kimono!" Devil Misao immediately said.  
  
"He did not!" objected Misao.  
  
"Did too! He said the kimono was loose! So its obvious that he peeked while you were sleeping or something!"  
  
"Soujiro wouldn't do that," Misao said.  
  
"How would you know?" questioned Devil Misao. "You don't know anything about Soujiro other then that he's a psycho!"  
  
"You're wrong!" For some reason, anger had suddenly took over Misao. She picked up her devil self in one hand and raised her up into the air before she was face to face with her. "You're the one that doesn't know anything about Soujiro! So don't you dare say anything about him!"  
  
The poor shoulder devil ended up being thrown back into the water of the bath. When she resurfaced, the poor abused Devil Misao had the famous swirly eyes because of the impact.  
  
"We're making excellent progress!" cheered Angel Misao.  
  
"Ah, what do the three of you know?" asked Devil Misao dizzily, her vision spinning around and making her see three of her counterpart.  
  
"Good job Misao!" Angel Misao smiled proudly at the now confused Misao.  
  
"Huh?" asked Misao.  
  
"You have developed feelings for Soujiro!"  
  
"What!? I don't have any feelings for the smiling baka! He's my enemy!"  
  
"Then how come you got all teary eyed when he told you his past? And don't forget, you hugged him! We see all Misao!"  
  
Poor Misao now had a red face. Despite how much she tried to convince herself that she did not have feelings for the Tenken, it did nothing for the redness on her face. And Devil Misao's next comment didn't help.  
  
"I bet you really wanted him to look under your kimono!" she cried.  
  
"What!?" Now Misao's face seemed to suddenly take on an even darker shade of blush. "I did not!"  
  
"Don't deny it!" Devil Misao pointed dramatically at Misao. "You really did want him to-gah!"  
  
Whatever Devil Misao was about to say, she didn't get the chance. Misao had dunked Devil Misao under the water before she could finish her sentence. The ninja girl waited for a few seconds before allowing her shoulder devil to resurface. Devil Misao immediately started coughing away and breathing in gulps of fresh air.  
  
"You didn't have to do that!" she complained.  
  
"Seems that the only way I can shut you up is by doing that," replied Misao hotly.  
  
Angel Misao watched the scene amusedly, the small piece of fake angel blood in her, we'll say, taking effect as she smiled at the pain being brought to her counter part. But she had work to do. She allowed herself to just relax in the hot water for a few seconds before speaking.  
  
"Well you were wrong about Soujiro, Misao," she said, getting Misao's attention. "I told you he had a reason for being all smiley and killing people for Shishio."  
  
Misao didn't really know how to respond to that one. All she was able to do was stare down at the hot water of the bath, lost in her own thoughts as she muttered, "Yeah. I was wrong about him."  
  
"Which is why he needs you!" Angel Misao continued. "And you need him. He didn't have anyone to care for him when he was young. And you lost your parents when you were young."  
  
"And there's really no hope for Aoshi," put in Devil Misao, who was now actually being serious. "He has too many problems."  
  
Misao only continued to stare down into the bath. And as she thought, she suddenly realized something. Her feelings for Aoshi had seemed to change.  
  
During her journey to look for the former Okishira of the Oniwabanshu, Misao had thought she had loved the cold and serious Aoshi. But now, as she thought, she realized that she really did love him. But only as a brother.  
  
And what about Soujiro? What did she think of him now? Sure, she has now thought of him as her friend. Still.....did she think of him as more of a friend?  
  
"Though I like helping you get your answers," Angel Misao spoke, "you're going to have to find the answer to that question on your own."  
  
Misao wondered if her shoulder angel and devil could read her thoughts. That only lasted for a second, as thoughts of a smiling Tenken took over her mind. Sighing, she dunked her head into the water.  
  
This was all very confusing.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------  
  
"She had cried for me," Soujiro said, having sat down as he leaned against a wall.  
  
Angel Soujiro had perched onto Soujiro's shoulder, and Devil Soujiro was sitting on Soujiro's other shoulder. They both stared at Soujiro, who was lost in thought, thinking of what happened a couple of days ago.  
  
"No one ever cried for me before," Soujiro continued.  
  
"No one ever cared for you either," put in Angel Soujiro.  
  
"And.....she hugged me." Soujiro seemed to be in a daze, several thoughts bombarding his mind.  
  
Someone actually cried for him. Hell, someone actually HUGGED him. These things were all strange and new for Soujiro. Even this warm feeling in the pit of his stomach was strange.  
  
The strange part was.....he liked this feeling.  
  
This was a completely different feeling, opposite of when he would kill someone. When he would kill someone, he would feel a cold satisfaction that he had killed who he had sent to kill, and hoping that the next target wouldn't be so weak. There was also this hollow feeling inside of him. Even though he had done what he was supposed to do, he couldn't help but feel the small emptiness inside of him.  
  
But this feeling, it was different. It seemed to actually fill the emptiness inside of him. It's probably why he liked this feeling so much. It was doing what killing couldn't do. Making him whole.  
  
"Does this kind of thing happen a lot?" Soujiro couldn't help but ask.  
  
"Yes and no," replied Angel Soujiro. "It doesn't happen. Not until you meet someone that is special. Like Misao."  
  
"She's doing this to me....."  
  
"So make a move on her!" Devil Soujiro spoke. "Peek inside the bath house! She won't know! Just one peek!"  
  
"No way!" Angel Soujiro objected. "Soujiro wouldn't violate her privacy like that!"  
  
"Come on! If this all goes well, Soujiro will be doing more then just looking at her!" Devil Soujiro winked, and Soujiro really didn't want to know what that was about.  
  
"She has been quiet....." Soujiro murmured, looking at the door of the bath house.  
  
"You don't need to look," said Angel Soujiro. "Besides, why wouldn't she be quiet? She doesn't exactly have anyone in there with her!"  
  
"She could've escaped," said Devil Soujiro. Shrugging he continued, "If not take a peek, at least knock to see if she's still in there?"  
  
"Fine," said Soujiro. Giving Devil Soujiro a look he added, "But only to see if she's still in there."  
  
His shoulder devil only grinned, shrugging his shoulders.  
  
Sitting up, Soujiro dusted himself off. Hesitant at first, he walked towards the door to the bath house. Again he hesitated, but he soon raised a hand and knocked.  
  
"Are you in there Misao?" he questioned.  
  
No answer.  
  
Devil Soujiro was about to say something, but a look from Soujiro silenced him. The Tenken knocked again.  
  
"Misao?"  
  
Still no answer.  
  
Soujiro stood there for a few seconds, weighing the options he had. His face reddened slightly as he slid the door open.  
  
"I'm not looking!" Angel Soujiro cried, putting his hands over his eyes.  
  
"Wuss," commented Devil Soujiro.  
  
"She's not in here anyway," said Soujiro, looking through the room of the bath house.  
  
Indeed, Misao wasn't anywhere to be found.  
  
"Maybe she really did escape," said Devil Soujiro.  
  
Angel Soujiro lowered his hands from his face. Spotting something on the ground, he turned to it and froze.  
  
"If she escaped.....why are her clothes still here?"  
  
Both Soujiro and Devil Soujiro turned to see what Angel Soujiro found. Indeed, Misao's ninja outfit was lying on the floor. The problem was that there was no ninja girl in the outfit.  
  
It was at that very moment did something pop out of the bath.  
  
What happened next, Soujiro wasn't sure. But as he turned to see what had revealed itself, he immediately regretted it.  
  
Before him was Misao. And considering her clothes were on the floor.....yeah the author really doesn't have to go on.  
  
Soujiro felt the burn on his face as he stared at the unclothed Misao, his feet frozen to the ground. Despite his mind telling him to turn around and get out of the bath house, he kept his gaze on the ninja girl. Misao hadn't seen him yet, thanks to whatever Kami was up there.  
  
But.....she didn't see him YET.  
  
"Damn....." said Devil Soujiro, staring at the girl.  
  
"AH!!!" cried Angel Soujiro, covering his eyes with his hands. "I'M SORRY!!!"  
  
The heat on his face continued to increase to the point where Soujiro thought his own sweat glands had been destroyed just like Shishio's had. When he tried to speak, his voice was unusually squeaky and he couldn't help but stutter.  
  
"M-M-M-Misao?"  
  
The said ninja girl's green eyes were suddenly wide. Turning, she soon saw the red faced Tenken. She couldn't see his shoulder angel and devil, if anyone was wondering. All she was able to see was Soujiro. Staring at her without her clothes!  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
Which was broken by a loud shriek.  
  
"SOUJIRO!!!" screamed Misao, who immediately tried to hide herself. Her hand suddenly grabbed a brush that was next to her. And letting instinct take over, she threw it.  
  
"Duck and cover!" Devil Soujiro warned, hiding behind Soujiro's shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-gah!" Angel Soujiro spoke before he felt the brush collide into him and sent him tumbling to the floor.  
  
Something suddenly clicked in Soujiro's mind, and the now panicked Tenken took off running, with various objects being thrown at him. Angel Soujiro ran after him, his hands still over his eyes which caused him to bump into several things before finally getting out of the bath house and running after Soujiro.  
  
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"I said I was sorry Misao," Soujiro apologized for the hundredth time, hanging his head as his face continued to burn slightly.  
  
"You should've known I was still in there!" Misao shouted at him, her own face red with embarrassment while she tied her hair into her usual braid.  
  
"You didn't answer when I knocked. I thought you were trying to escape again."  
  
"And why would I try to escape again baka!? I can't get out of here with you and that stupid maze!"  
  
"I said I was sorry."  
  
Misao continued to grumble to herself as she finished her braid. Soujiro was able to make out her words like "smiling baka" and "hentai".  
  
Soujiro sighed. This was all very confusing.  
  
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The scent of fresh tobacco filled the room as Shishio lit his pipe again. He put it in his mouth and took a few puffs of it as he read the book that was in his hand. If Shishio hadn't had the bandages around his hands, the book would've already been burnt to a crisp with his abnormal body heat.  
  
He turned a page in his novel. Aoshi Shinomori proved well enough that he wasn't going to betray them. It seemed that he was deep in his objective to beat the Battousai.  
  
Meaning that they no longer needed the prisoner.  
  
Shishio turned another page just as the door suddenly opened. He didn't look up just yet, just kept his eyes on his novel. Finishing up the chapter of the book, he closed it and placed it besides him before looking up at his visitor.  
  
"You wanted to see me?" asked Soujiro, standing before the bandaged swordsman.  
  
"Yes I did," replied Shishio, removing his pipe from his mouth and allowing wisps of smoke trail from his mouth, giving him more of a hellish look. "You know our prisoner right?"  
  
"Yes I do. She's a very troubling one I have to admit."  
  
"Glad to hear it. Because she won't be troubling soon enough."  
  
"Hm?" Soujiro blinked. For some reason, he suddenly felt a cold hand seem to touch him as Shishio said those words.  
  
"Shinomori has proven that he will stay loyal to us until he kills the Battousai. So we no longer need the prisoner. You don't have to do it now, you can wait until tomorrow."  
  
"Wait until what?" Though deep in his mind, Soujiro knew what Shishio was about to say.  
  
"I want you to kill her."  
  
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Misao continued to curse silently to herself, the event at the bath house still angering her. She was going to kill that baka one day! How dare he walk in on her while she was taking a bath!  
  
Fortunately, her shoulder angel and devil hadn't appeared. She really didn't need them. For some reason, Angel and Devil Misao had disappeared before the whole incident. Misao started wondering if they had something to do with the incident.  
  
The thought only seemed to anger her further. It seemed like everyone was against her! Even her shoulder angel and devil!  
  
Misao grinded her teeth together to the point where you could see sparks coming from them. She suddenly blew up, kicking and screaming as all the events became too much for her. She punched and kicked at anything that was in front of her.  
  
She hated this place! She wanted out! Away from smiling hentai bakas! Away from backstabbing shoulder angels and devils! Away from everything that angered her!  
  
By the time Misao was done, she was breathing heavily. She did feel better though. One of those little habits she had when all this stress became too much for her.  
  
"Frustrated Misao?" Soujiro asked, staring at her with amusement, having seen the whole thing.  
  
"Shut up baka! I'm still not talking to you!"  
  
"But you just did."  
  
Misao was about to retort, but kept her mouth shut. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her back to him. Soujiro's smile widened at her.  
  
And then his smile turned into his Tenken smile.  
  
She had her back turned to him. This would be quick and painless. She wouldn't know what would hit her. His hand went to the hilt of his sword. His fingers wrapped around it and slowly started to pull it out.  
  
Pain was what caused him to let go of his sword and let it slide back to its sheath. Soujiro held a hand to her head, feeling the pain attack him. He pressed his back against a wall and slid down it until he was sitting down on the floor, clutching his head in his hands.  
  
What was going on? Sweat started to slide down his face as he held his head. The pain suddenly lessened, and Soujiro lowered his hands from his head and wiped the sweat from his face.  
  
"Soujiro?"  
  
Soujiro looked up, finding that Misao had actually turned to face him again. Now she kneeled down before him, watching him with a worried look.  
  
"I thought you said you weren't talking to me anymore," said Soujiro, and his smile soon returned.  
  
Misao didn't reply. She raised a hand and held it to his forehead. Soujiro tensed at the touch. Why he tensed was because he unconsciously thought that he was going to be struck, like what happened years ago.  
  
Old memories die hard.  
  
"You feel hot," Misao informed, lowering her hand from his head and wiped some sweat from his brow. "Maybe you're sick. Probably got what I had."  
  
"That can't be," replied Soujiro, standing up. "I don't get sick."  
  
"Don't get sick huh?"  
  
Soujiro blamed the sickness about what happened next. It left him disoriented, and probably why Misao was able to knock him down. She planted a foot on his chest as she stared down at him, a triumphant grin on her face.  
  
"Bout time I got you," she said. Removing her foot from on top of him, she bent down to help him up.  
  
Soujiro allowed her to help him up. Misao met some resistance from him as she tried to move him. But soon enough she was able to guide him to her futon before lying him down.  
  
"Now stay here and rest," she said.  
  
Soujiro watched her stand up and move to a bowl of water that had somehow appeared out of nowhere. She came back soon enough with a wet cloth that she dumped into the bowl and placed it on his forehead. Soujiro was about to protest, but a look from Misao silenced him.  
  
'She's so close,' a voice suddenly spoke in Soujiro's mind. 'Just one thrust through the blanket. That's all it'll take.'  
  
The Tenken had heard that voice many times. During his assassinations, he would sometimes rely on that voice to help him strike down his opponent.  
  
But this time he wasn't going to rely on it.  
  
He blocked the voice from his mind as he allowed Misao to take care of him.  
  
'Not today,' he thought. 'Tomorrow. She will die then.'  
  
But even the Tenken couldn't help but notice how a part of him disagreed.  
  
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Author's Note: Woohoo! Done! And now the plot thickens! Will Soujiro kill Misao or not? Well.....you'll only be able to find out in the next chapter. Even though I'm going to get killed for stopping here . 


	8. Chapter 7: The Decision

Author's Note: Doo doo doo. Another nice little chapter I have posted up. And in this chapter is when you'll be able to find out if Soujiro kills Misao! Now time to read the chapter.  
  
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It was the day after yesterday, and Soujiro had recovered from the sickness he had had. The said Tenken had retreated into his room. Usually, he would be sitting around and smiling, wondering what to do to pass his time and waiting to see if Shishio would need him for any errands. Of course the errands usually meant people to kill. Having gathered the Juppon Gattana, there were really no assignments for Soujiro to do.  
  
Except one.  
  
This time, Soujiro actually wasn't smiling. Instead, the killer just sat, his back against the wall of his room as he thought, his sheathed sword on top of his crossed legs. After a while of thinking, he would glance at his sword, thoughts running through his mind.  
  
He had killed so many people with that sword. And he felt no regret for what he did. Every time he would kill someone, he would just think of the person as food. He was strong, and the ones he killed were weak.  
  
But, as he slowly slid the blade out and stared at it, he wondered if he could add someone else's blood to it. Misao's blood.  
  
A few days ago, Soujiro had no thoughts about the ninja girl, and would've killed her right when Shishio would tell him to. Yesterday, he had some conflicting thoughts about killing her, but was still going to. It was the sickness that stopped him.  
  
Now, Soujiro was actually thinking about not killing Misao.  
  
Soujiro slid his sword back in its sheath, and placed it so that it was resting against his shoulder. He stared down at the floor, his thoughts continuing to run amuck in his mind.  
  
Misao was weak. He was strong. So didn't that mean he should kill her? It made sense to him. But every time he thought of it, something didn't feel right about it.  
  
"The weak die," Soujiro suddenly muttered. He seemed to pause before speaking again. "But.....is it really wrong to be weak?"  
  
It was a good question actually. Though people were weak, was it really their fault? Was their dream of living their life peacefully really that wrong?  
  
Soujiro had once wanted to get by in the world. That was a long time ago, when he had the scars to prove how cruel the world was to him. Every day he would do what he was told, hoping to live a day where those two brothers wouldn't mess anything up on purpose and blame it on him, just to watch him be beaten.  
  
The Tenken raised a hand and trailed a finger on the fabric of his gi over his left shoulder. Despite what the gi tried to hide from sight, Soujiro was able to feel one of the many scars on his body. Though small, maybe three inches at most, it wasn't that bad compared to the others.  
  
But to Misao, it was an injury to worry about.  
  
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Soujiro raised into a sitting position on the futon, wiping some sweat from his face. He didn't like this sickness that plagued him. It gave him the impression that he was weak. He did not like being weak.  
  
"You shouldn't be up yet," Misao said, kneeling down beside him.  
  
"I'm alright," Soujiro assured. Though sick, he was able to keep his emotionless smile on his face.  
  
"Yeah, you're too strong for a sickness," Misao mocked, grinning at him.  
  
A wave of pain suddenly shot through Soujiro and he closed his eyes before grimacing and dropping down to the futon. How he hated this. It was like being a weak child all over again.  
  
He waited for the pain to subside again. This sickness was like an enemy. Every time he would try to fight it, it would only attack him and bring him down to his knees. Soujiro had fought multiple opponents, but this simple sickness was doing what no other warrior could do.  
  
Soujiro opened his eyes and was surprised to find Misao looking down at him with sudden sympathy. "What is it?"  
  
All he got was one of the ninja girl's pale fingers trailing down the bare flesh of his left shoulder. Soujiro blinked and looked at what caught Misao's attention.  
  
A scar, no more then three inches, ran across his shoulder. His gi had slipped down his shoulder when he had been brought down to the futon, and revealed the injury. As Misao trailed her finger against the scar, she looked down at Soujiro.  
  
"Did they do this to you?" she asked.  
  
Soujiro didn't need to figure out who Misao meant. "Yeah." He grabbed the fabric of the gi and pushed it up over his scar.  
  
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Sympathy. Concern. Non-killing. Love.  
  
Soujiro never experienced these things before. Sometimes he would wonder if they even existed. There was sure none of that in Kyoto.  
  
He wasn't given any sympathy or concern. Death was all around him. And love.....there was no one that could possibly give him that.  
  
The Tenken stood up, strapping his sword to his waist. Whether he liked it or didn't like what he had become, it didn't matter. The next step to his path in life has already been shown to him. And he was going to take that step.  
  
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Soujiro having left this morning to do stuff, as he said, Misao was alone again.  
  
Misao didn't really care. Soujiro would appear and disappear, doing stuff, and Misao would just try to find other ways to pass time. Mostly training of course. She couldn't allow herself to get rusty after all.  
  
Having taken a piece of cloth, Misao had tied it over her eyes. Her stubbornness wouldn't allow her to give up with this little training until she was successful at it. The need to be stronger so she kick that smiling Tenken's ass only helped with her determination.  
  
Misao got into a stance, taking some deep breaths to help her focus. Springing into motion, she sent a fist forward before doing a roundhouse kick. Though hitting nothing but air, the ninja girl pretended that she was hitting a certain smiling baka. She still hasn't forgiven him for looking at her when she was taking a bath after all.  
  
"Ow!" Misao suddenly cried out, knocking into a low table. Clutching her now throbbing shin, she hopped on one foot. That soon ended up being a mistake when she suddenly tripped over the futon and fell flat on her back.  
  
She growled lowly to herself, not liking how her very short training session went.  
  
"How is Misao doing today?" asked a voice.  
  
Misao already knew who it was. But she still pulled the blindfold from over her eyes and turned to glare at the smiling Soujiro. She didn't speak to him, instead she only stood up and dusted herself off, her back turned to him.  
  
If Misao had turned around, she would've seen Soujiro moving towards her. His hand hovered to the hilt of his sword as he moved closer to her back.  
  
"I'll be able to do it one day," Misao spoke, unaware of the approaching Tenken. "A bit more training and that day will come."  
  
"Unfortunately Misao," Soujiro spoke, "you will not be alive when that day comes."  
  
The ninja girl turned around at that. Pure instinct suddenly took over and she dived to the side, Soujiro's sword striking nothing but where Misao had just been.  
  
Misao rolled on the floor before standing up quickly. She stared at Soujiro in shock. "What the hell are you doing!?"  
  
"Shishio says that you are no longer useful Misao," replied Soujiro, turning to her with his Tenken smile on his face. He let the blade of his sword rest against his shoulder as he stared emotionlessly at her. "And when something is useless, you get rid of it."  
  
Misao had known that this day would come. Despite having grown a liking to Shishio's right hand man, Misao knew deep in her heart that one day that she would no longer be needed anymore. Probably why she spent most of her time training when she was alone. To prepare for this day.  
  
"I wasn't even trying with that first attack," Soujiro explained. "I wasn't surprised that you avoided it. But this time, I will kill you."  
  
"Just because some bacon man told you to," growled Misao. She wasn't going to give up without a fight that was for sure. Soujiro may be a much stronger fighter then she was, but she wasn't going to let herself be killed just like that.  
  
"Don't take this personally Misao. But Shishio did say to get rid of you. It was nice knowing you. You have been very amusing during your stay here. Now goodbye."  
  
Misao almost didn't see the next attack coming. Soujiro had suddenly charged at her that she almost didn't have time to dodge. However, she was able to leap to the side just as Soujiro reached her and swung his sword. Strings of black hair fell to the floor as the Tenken's blade sliced through Misao's hair. She was lucky that was all she lost.  
  
"Seems I underestimated you Misao," said Soujiro, turning to her again, the smile still present on his face. "You're still full of surprises I see."  
  
Misao only glared at him. Charging at him with no weapon was a stupid idea. Her best bet was to let Soujiro attack her until she found an opening to attack him. If she was lucky, very lucky, she might be able to find a way to turn the tables on Soujiro.  
  
Misao suddenly cried out in pain as she felt Soujiro's sword suddenly pierce her flesh.  
  
Or not.  
  
Misao gripped her now bleeding shoulder, gritting her teeth as she kept her gaze on the Tenken. Soujiro turned to her and blinked, as if surprised that she was still living.  
  
"Strange," he said, placing his sword against his shoulder again. He held a hand to his chin as he stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought. "I really did try to hit you that time. But for some reason I missed."  
  
'He calls that a miss!?' thought Misao angrily, clutching her shoulder.  
  
"Oh well. I'll just try again. Third time's the charm."  
  
'Oh no he won't.'  
  
Hoping to somehow catch Soujiro off guard, Misao leapt forward. She shot her fist forward and grinned as her knuckles hit him directly in the face.  
  
Then he suddenly disappeared.  
  
'An afterimage!' Misao thought with alarm, realizing that what she thought was Soujiro, wasn't really him. 'But how can he move that fast!?'  
  
No sooner had she thought that, did she suddenly scream in pain. Soujiro's blade sliced into her back as he suddenly appeared behind her. The ninja girl collapsed to her knees, blood flowing from her shoulder and back.  
  
"I missed again," Soujiro said again, surprised that Misao wasn't dead yet. "Oh well."  
  
The wound in Misao's back wasn't deep. However, it still hurt like hell. Using her unwounded arm, Misao slowly tried to stand up. A sudden light kick to her side though, caused the ninja girl to roll onto her back.  
  
Green eyes stared into blue as ninja and Tenken stared at one another. Soujiro held his blood stained sword over Misao's throat.  
  
"This time I won't miss," he informed her.  
  
Misao didn't speak, and for a while Soujiro thought that she had accepted her fate.  
  
Which why he was surprised when Misao suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. Soujiro did not see any fear in those eyes. Only a strong flame seemed to burn inside them.  
  
"Do you really want to kill me?" Misao suddenly asked.  
  
Soujiro blinked. "What?"  
  
"Are you deaf?" asked Misao, annoyed at how idiotic the Tenken was. "I asked if you really want to kill me?"  
  
It seemed that Misao was an expert at these confusing questions. Because soon, Soujiro was suddenly silent, thinking over the question.  
  
Did he really want to kill her? A part of him, the part that made him who he was, immediately screamed out yes. But another part of him, the small voice inside of his head, said no.  
  
It was confusing. It was like a war suddenly broke out in his mind. On one side, there was Shishio's teachings and who Soujiro was now. On the other side, was that small voice.  
  
The image of that rainy night suddenly appeared in Soujiro's mind. His eight year old self stood in the center of the corpses, the wakizashi in his small hand.  
  
He had killed those people, yes. But.....he really didn't want to kill them. He had killed every one that he was assigned to kill. But, as he thought hard on it, he really never wanted to kill them either.  
  
"No," Soujiro finally answered, lowering his sword.  
  
Misao couldn't help but let out a sigh a relief.  
  
And then she was clubbed on the head and everything went black.  
  
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"So I see," Shishio spoke, once again having his lit pipe in his mouth. "You killed her?"  
  
"Just as you said," replied Soujiro, smiling. Holding up his now sheathed sword, he slid the blade out before Shishio so the mummy man can see the blood stained on it.  
  
Misao's blood.  
  
"Yes, I've heard from the guards that you have killed her. And now that she's out of the way, we can worry about more pressing matters. The Purgatory is almost ready to make its journey to Tokyo. And the flames of Kyoto will soon be lit to represent the starting of a new era of Japan. Soon, everything will be complete."  
  
"Of course Shishio."  
  
Soujiro bowed his head at Shishio before turning to leave. It was true, everything was almost complete.  
  
But Soujiro needed to do one more thing.  
  
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The first thing that Misao awoke to when she opened her eyes, was the throbbing of her head. She held up a hand to her head, and soon found at that her hands were bound together. She blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision. Sunlight stun at her eyes and she rubbed them with her bound hands. Looking down, she soon found that her feet had also been bound.  
  
Now how did she get in this predicament?  
  
Her head continued to pound as she tried to remember. But soon enough, the memories of what happened slowly came to her.  
  
'Soujiro!'  
  
Eyes now wide, Misao looked around. She wasn't in her usual prison as she had immediately thought she was in. Instead, she had been propped against a tree on top of a hill. Having been in her darkened prison, it took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust being in sunlight again.  
  
She looked at her shoulder, and found that a bandage had been wrapped around it. She guessed that the wound in her back had been treated as well. Taking another look around, Misao tried to see if the Tenken was somewhere around. He wasn't.  
  
That was until Soujiro suddenly seemed to appear out of thin air in front of her.  
  
Misao cried out in surprise and tried to move away from the one that had just tried to kill her. But with her hands and feet tied up, it wasn't very easy to do.  
  
"Oh you're awake," said Soujiro, smiling down at her. "Good."  
  
"Come to finish the job?" asked Misao angrily.  
  
Soujiro chuckled. As he slid his sword out of the sheath, the ninja girl thought he really was about to kill her. Soujiro swung his sword at her.  
  
But instead of a death blow, the ropes tied around Misao's wrists and ankles were suddenly sliced in half. She looked down at her now free limbs and then stared dumbfounded at Soujiro, who sheathed his sword before holding out a hand to her.  
  
Not really sure what to do, Misao took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled up.  
  
"Well all you have to do is go that way," said Soujiro, pointing to his left. "You should be okay by yourself."  
  
He turned to leave until Misao suddenly spoke. "Wait!"  
  
Soujiro stopped and turned to her, his head tilted as he continued to smile. "Yes?"  
  
"What the hell are you doing!? What do you mean all I have to do is go that way!?"  
  
Soujiro only chuckled again. "All you have to do is go that way to go home Misao. That is where Kyoto is I believe."  
  
Misao stood dumbfounded, not sure how to take all this. In the end, she was only able to ask, "You're letting me go?"  
  
"Of course. Why else would I be doing this?"  
  
"You're letting me go?"  
  
"I just said yes."  
  
"But Shishio-."  
  
"Only thinks that you're dead," interrupted Soujiro.  
  
"But what if-?"  
  
"He finds out? I'm hurt. Have you forgotten who I am?"  
  
Misao was only able to sputter, not sure what to think or say. Finally she was only able to ask, for the third time, "You're letting me go?"  
  
"Do I really have to answer that again?"  
  
Misao only stared at him. She turned her head to where Kyoto was said to be, and then turned to him again.  
  
"Just right down there," Soujiro said, pointing to his left again. "Now I have to return. I can't let Shishio get suspicious of my absence now can I?"  
  
Soujiro turned to leave.  
  
"Wait!"  
  
Soujiro again stopped and did an about face. "Yes Misao?"  
  
Misao stood in front of the Tenken. She hesitated, a small blush forming.  
  
"I was saving this for Aoshi.....but....."  
  
Misao suddenly stood on her toes. Soujiro blinked in surprise when he felt her lips suddenly touch his cheek. It was a quick kiss, and Misao was soon staring at the ground, her face burning.  
  
Soujiro stared at her with surprise, a hand on the cheek that had just been kissed.  
  
Misao waited for him to say anything. When he didn't she turned to leave.  
  
"Wait."  
  
Now it was Misao's turn to stop and turn to Soujiro.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Soujiro seemed to pause, wondering if he should say what he was about to say. He took a breath. "Tomorrow, Shishio intends to have his men set fire to Kyoto. Be ready."  
  
Misao's eyes widened with surprise at what might happened to her home, and that Soujiro was actually telling her Shishio's plans.  
  
"That's not all," continued Soujiro. "Burning Kyoto will only be a diversion. While the government is occupied with trying to stop the fires in Kyoto, Shishio will be attacking Tokyo."  
  
"How will he be able to do that?" asked Misao.  
  
"He has a battleship called the Purgatory. It'll be disguised as a normal boat and hidden in a dock where Shishio will board it and then sail to Tokyo to destroy it with the Purgatory's weapons. Please do tell Himura. We still have unfinished business after all."  
  
Misao could only stare at Soujiro again. All she was able to do now was smile at him. "I will."  
  
Turning around, Misao walked off to where Soujiro told her Kyoto was. The Tenken watched her go, smiling at her. Turning around, he walked off, humming a familiar tune.  
  
Killing and swordsmanship was what Soujiro understood. But girls, they were a mystery to him.  
  
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Author's Note: Finally! The chapter is done! Truthfully I wasn't proud of some parts of this chapter. I think I kind of rushed those parts. Now before you go all blah blah blahing about Kenshin, Saitoh, and Sano figuring out about Shishio attacking Tokyo, who really cares? Let's just say Soujiro gave them a helping hand, it helps with the Soujiro/Misao. But anyway, hope you like it. Only one more chapter to go and this fic is done! Now it's 2:12 in the morning, and I'm going to bed. So peace! falls on my bed and sleeps zzzzzzzzz. 


	9. Epilogue: Together Again

Author's Note: Woohoo! Wanna guess what this is people? If you're guessing the final chapter.....lucky guess..... Anyway, we get to see the finale to this fic, and how our Tenken and ninja girl is going to do. So.....why are you wasting time reading this!? Read the chapter!  
  
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All Soujiro was able to do was lie there. His clothing was torn, and his sword had disappeared from his sheath. His prized weapon wasn't in his hand either. It lying next to him.....one half of it anyway. The other half was just five feet away from it, having been broken off.  
  
He couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. He had been defeated.  
  
The Tenken wasn't smiling this time, only stared at the ceiling in a bit of a daze, thoughts running through his mind.  
  
He had been defeated. He was supposed to be strong. Now he was weak. How could he have lost?  
  
Himura had been much weaker when they had last fought. How is it that he could've gotten so strong so quickly?  
  
Soujiro sighed. It didn't matter now.  
  
No one was in the room except him. Himura and his friend, Sano if Soujiro heard right, moved on to face Shishio. Yumi had disappeared, with the secret to Himura's Ama Kakeru Ryu No Hirameki technique. Even if Yumi wasn't able to see it during Himura's fight between Shinomori, Soujiro was able to see it clearly.  
  
But Yumi didn't only take the secret of Himura's technique to Shishio.  
  
Soujiro sighed again, remembering giving his mother figure the sword that Shishio had given him. The same wakizashi he had used to kill the first people he ever killed. He had treasured it for tem long years. And now.....he just didn't want it anymore.  
  
He was still sore, but Soujiro still found it in him to move. He clutched his side where he had been hit the hardest by Himura's attack as he stood up, his legs shaking but overcoming it. The Tenken allowed himself to look at the room, having been damaged greatly when he had used his Shukuchi.  
  
This may be the last time he got to see this place.  
  
He didn't want to be here anymore. Despite this place having been his home, he couldn't stand being here anymore. It held too much blood and death, like his wakizashi had. Too many memories.  
  
Instead, he was going to do what Himura had told him to do, find the answers to his questions. He needed to live out his life now, to atone for the crimes he had done.  
  
Soujiro leaned against a wall, looking down at the floor. He was changing, had been changing, ever since meeting Misao. He was no longer able to suppress his emotions during the battle with Himura, and lost. His memories had been too much, he had been distracted, and was defeated.  
  
During that moment, as he lied there, cradled in Yumi's arms with Himura standing over him, he had wished the Battousai would finish him. He had even told Himura to finish him, to finish the battle. Himura was stronger, so it made sense that Soujiro was supposed to die.  
  
He wasn't expecting the reply.  
  
Himura had told him something, something that only he was able to hear.  
  
"I won't kill you Soujiro," Himura had said. "I gave up the ways of the Battousai years ago." Then, quietly he added, "Besides, Misao would be very angry with me if I were to tell her that I killed you."  
  
She actually cared for him.....  
  
Soujiro felt something wet slide down his cheek. Blinking, he raised the hand that wasn't clutching his side and touched whatever it was. Removing his hand, he looked at the droplet of water on his finger.  
  
A tear.  
  
For a long long time, Soujiro never smiled a true smile. But now, he was smiling. A true smile.  
  
Pushing himself from the wall, he allowed the couple of tears slide down his face as he moved to the door. Whether Himura won or became defeated by Shishio, it didn't matter. Soujiro was leaving.  
  
"Good bye Shishio," he said quietly to himself.  
  
Himura said he should go find his answers somewhere. But what Himura didn't know, Soujiro knew where he needed to go.  
  
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Another punch and another kick.  
  
Misao, blindfolded, back flipped before kicking at nothing at air. Following an uppercut, she twirled to face another invisible opponent and shot two fists forward. Stopping, she got into a stance and allowed herself to take deep breaths.  
  
It has been two weeks after the defeat of Shishio. Aoshi was back, and Kenshin was recovering from the battle.  
  
Despite the celebration of Kenshin's victory, Misao wasn't attending at the moment. Today, she just wanted to train and let herself think.  
  
Aoshi was back, that she was happy about. But, from her time being with him, she had discovered that he had also thought of her as a little sister then a lover. Though it may have torn Misao apart weeks ago, she was actually relieved. To her it was strange.  
  
Saitoh was dead, having been killed when Shishio's lair was destroyed (But we all know the truth. Wink wink.). But even with the death of a fellow ally, there did seem to be cheers around the group. Everyone else was alive, even if Kenshin was taking a long time to recover.  
  
Except someone else was missing.  
  
Though Misao didn't know it, she felt like someone was missing in this little party of happiness. It took her a while, but as she thought, it seemed to come to her all at once.  
  
Soujiro.  
  
When Kenshin, Sano, and Aoshi came back, Misao was quick to ask Sano about what happened to the Tenken. Sano simply said that Kenshin defeated him. When she asked if Kenshin killed him, Sano just gave her a look that said, "You know Kenshin better then that."  
  
Misao was relieved. Really relieved. Probably why it came as a surprise to her. Soujiro had kept her as a prisoner, but was also the one that had set her free. For that, the ninja girl had considered him her friend.  
  
As she stood there, she wondered what happened to Soujiro. All she knew was that Soujiro was alive. Where he was, she had no idea. She did hope that she would somehow meet the Tenken another time though.  
  
Misao suddenly tensed when she heard some footsteps. They were slow and quiet, but the ninja girl was barely able to hear them. Misao gritted her teeth. She got snuck up on before. She was not going to be snuck up on again.  
  
She waited until whoever it was was just behind her. Then she turned around and struck.  
  
Sending her fist forward, she found out that she didn't do so well in catching the guy off guard, as he blocked. She followed up her punch with a swift kick, and her opponent only ducked. She sent another fist at him, and that was grabbed.  
  
Misao cried out in surprise when she was suddenly flipped and landed flat on her back. Already about to get back up, a foot was planted on her chest and kept her down on the ground. She growled, and her reply was a chuckle from her opponent.  
  
"You've been practicing Misao."  
  
Misao froze. She knew that voice. But.....it couldn't be.  
  
Slowly, her hand moved to the blindfold. Still slowly, she pulled it off and looked up.  
  
And saw a certain smiling Tenken.  
  
"Soujiro?" she asked, not believing that the Tenken was really here.  
  
"Hello Misao," greeted Soujiro, smiling down at her. Removing his foot from her chest, he helped the ninja girl up onto her feet.  
  
At first, Misao only stared at Soujiro. Then, suddenly getting the point that Soujiro WAS standing in front of her, she suddenly flung her arms around him.  
  
"It really is you!" she cried happily, hugging him tight.  
  
Though feeling his oxygen supply close to being cut off, Soujiro hugged her back. "Himura said I should try to find the answers to my questions. I've decided to look for them here."  
  
"It's so good to see you again!" Smiling, Misao removed herself from Soujiro. "Come on! Let's go see the others!"  
  
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"Aw that's so sweet," said Angel Misao, perched on top of a nearby house and watching the ninja girl and Tenken walk off.  
  
"Whatever," said Devil Misao. "Just glad we got this thing over with."  
  
"No we didn't!" argued Angel Misao. "They're not together!"  
  
"Yeah you're right," agreed Angel Soujiro. Grinning, he turned to his devil counterpart. "You know what this means don't you?"  
  
Devil Soujiro grinned back. "Yep."  
  
Then together they said, "Sequel."  
  
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Author's Note: Damn right! A sequel is coming up people! I'll probably get the first chapter of it up during the weekend. So be ready to read that! See ya later! 


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